Challenge: Improving patient safety
Solution: VPG Force Sensors has incorporated load cells into medical beds to solve various concerns. One solution accurately measures the weight of the patient and also can pinpoint the patient's location on the bed. Fall risk alerts notify healthcare workers if the patient is attempting to get out of bed without assistance. Another solution works with the bed's smart controls. Our solution detects pressure on the bed's handle bar. The force on the handle sends a signal to the motor, enabling the operator to easily drive the bed forward or backward, depending on the direction of the force detected. The solution makes the transportation of patients easier and safer, and reduces the number of workers required for the task.

Challenge: Reducing patient recovery time after a stroke or muscular injury
Solution: Motion machines are designed to work on muscles as part of a patient's therapy to recover motor skills. Our load cells provide the machine's controller with the real-time feedback that's needed to anticipate the patient's next movement. This smart resistance control increases or decreases the motion machine's resistance based on the force detected from the patient's movements, and results in aiding the patient's muscle growth where it is needed most. 

Challenge: Enhancing natural movement in arm and leg prosthetics
Solution: Advanced sensors in arm or leg prosthetics are designed to provide the right amount of strength assistance during movements. VPG Force Sensors solutions include load cells and custom force sensors that measure the pressure of every unique action from the patient, allowing automatic resistance variance of the prosthetic. This feature enables the patient to adapt to and carry out everyday tasks in a more natural manner. 

Challenge: Weighing neonates within the incubator
Solution: Rest and reduced exposure to germs are critical factors in neonatal care, so infant incubators are designed to protect vulnerable infants by providing a safe, stable environment. VPG Force Sensors incorporated load cells within the incubator to enable accurate real-time weight measurements to be taken without disturbing the infant's rest or exposing the baby to the external environment. 

Challenge: Ensuring patient comfort during breast scanning.
Solution: Mammogram screenings require proper compression of the patient's breast to achieve a clear scan. Too little compression can cause a poor X-ray reading, potentially requiring another scan and more X-ray exposure; too much compression results in a painful patient experience. VPG Force Sensors attached a load cell to the top of the plate, enabling the machine to automatically compress and stop at the right pressure level to ensure a good scan and increase the patient's comfort and safety.

Challenge: Administration of medications and fluids in a timely and accurate manner.
Solution: VPG Force Sensors incorporated strain gages on the infusion pump's unique pressure sensing disc that controls and monitors the inline syringe pressure during administration of medications and fluids. The measurement from the disc is sent to the indicator/display unit, providing valuable data to the operator.