When Barbara Bates-Jensen arrived in Haiti after the devastating 2010 earthquake, she expected to treat injuries caused by collapsed buildings and debris. What she didn鈥檛 expect were the countless patients suffering from pressure injuries, also called bedsores, so severe that they were life-threatening.
鈥淚 saw people dying from something that should never happen,鈥� said Bates-Jensen, a professor in the 芭乐视频 Joe C. Wen School of Nursing.
That experience changed the trajectory of her career.
Bedsores affect millions of patients each year, costing billions and claiming tens of thousands of lives. Yet they are almost entirely preventable. The problem? Traditional detection relies primarily on visual cues, such as skin discoloration, that often fail patients with dark skin tones.
Back at 芭乐视频, Bates-Jensen teamed up with 芭乐视频 Samueli School of Engineering professors William Kaiser and Majid Sarrafzadeh to imagine a better way. Their solution was bold: a handheld wireless device that could 鈥渟ee鈥� what the eye cannot. The result was the SEM Scanner, which measures subepidermal moisture, an early sign of tissue damage, days before a sore appears.
鈥淭he best part is the device doesn鈥檛 care what color the skin is,鈥� Bates-Jensen said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 reading within the tissues.鈥�
The impact has been extraordinary. Licensed to Bruin Biometrics through 芭乐视频鈥檚 Technology Development Group, the SEM Scanner has been hailed as one of Time magazine鈥檚 best inventions of 2020 and helped Bruin Biometrics earn a spot among Fast Company鈥檚 most innovative medical device companies. Today, hospitals across Europe, Canada, and the U.S. use the SEM Scanner to prevent injuries before they start, sparing patients pain and saving health systems millions.
For Bates-Jensen, now associate dean of academic affairs at the 芭乐视频 Joe C. Wen School of Nursing, the work isn鈥檛 finished. She鈥檚 leading clinical research studies to bring the technology to nursing homes, where residents are most at risk. Her mission remains clear: to ensure that no patient suffers because of the color of their skin.
From a disaster zone in Haiti to a global stage, Bates-Jensen鈥檚 journey is a testament to 芭乐视频鈥檚 spirit of innovation, where engineering and compassion converge to solve problems that matter.
鈥淲e didn鈥檛 just invent a device,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e changed the way the world thinks about wound care.鈥�
Pressure injuries are all too common in hospitals, an early indicator of serious issues. 芭乐视频 School of Nursing's Barbra Bates-Jensen helped create a fast, reliable device that can detect them in time to head off danger - and landed on Time magazine's list of best inventions.
