PUTRAJAYA: After witnessing first-hand the difficulties faced by road accident victims when undergoing X-ray screening, a radiographer from a hospital in Perak alongside Medical Apparatus Supplies Sdn Bhd (MASSB) embarked on a strategic collaboration to design the SmartBED.

The SmartBED is a multi-purpose patient bed that is equipped with special features for trauma imaging.

Shamsul Kamal Mohamad Khair, 47, said he was inspired to design the SmartBED when he was working at Taiping Hospital in 2013.

“On numerous occasions, I had witnessed the difficulties faced by road accident victims who would complain of pain when they were being transferred from the stretcher to another bed for X-ray screening.

“Since that day, the initial design of the SmartBED has gone through improvements and changes for about 80 times to ensure that the medical equipment could help speed up matters and lessen the pain usually experienced among patients when transferring beds to undergo X-ray imaging,” said Shamsul Kamal, who is currently attached with Selama Hospital.

In July 2017, MASSB signed a Commercialisation Agreement with the Health Ministry to develop and commercialise the SmartBED.

MASSB executive director Mohd Niza Md Azar said the two-year effort transformed the earlier prototype into a full-scale, commercialised unit that is ready to be marketed locally as well as globally as it is the only medical equipment in the world that is equipped with such unique features.

“SmartBED has been tested rigorously and put to use for one year in a government hospital to ensure it meets the standard and intended purpose.

“It is equipped with unique features that enable trauma patients to undergo imaging procedures without being transferred and moved compared with the existing procedure.

“Hence, it subsequently enhances the productivity of healthcare staff and ensures the wellbeing of trauma case patients,” said Mohd Niza, adding that MAASB and Shamsul Kamal had filed for the joint Industrial Design and Technology Patent with MyIPO for SmartBED.

The SmartBED was launched by Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba during the ministry’s Innovation Day recently.

Present were his deputy Dr Noor Azmi Ghazali, the ministry’s secretary-general Datuk Mohd Shafiq Abdullah, Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah, MASSB managing director Md Azar Ismail and its group general manager Nasharuddin Mohd Nasir.

“The development of the SmartBED is to create a new normal in the procedure of diagnostic trauma imaging, which prioritises 3K, namely Keselamatan (safety), Keselesaan (comfort) and Kesejahteraan Pesakit (the wellbeing of patients),” said Dr Adham.

At present, MASSB is the designer and the main distributor of the first locally made sharps waste containers and trocar disposable bins.

The environmentally friendly sharps waste container uses a high content of recycled plastic derived from Malaysian domestic plastic waste which are certified with the Sirim Eco-Label and Malaysia Green Technology & Climate Change Centre’s MyHIJAU Mark.

The product is listed among the approved list of products for Government Green Procurement and eligible for green investments tax allowance.

The company, together with the Health Ministry, is also involved in the commercialisation, co-design and distribution of other high-impact innovative equipment, such as MyMAT (the first Malaysian Aedes mosquito autocidal trap), Stancewheel (equipment specially designed for wheelchair-bound dental patients) and Standing Bed (portable physiotherapy standing frame for children with physical disability who require physiotherapy treatment).

In fact, the Standing Bed, which was innovated by a team of physiotherapists from the Tengku Anis Hospital in Pasir Puteh, Kelantan, was the recipient of the Anugerah Perdana Inovasi 2020 at the Health Ministry’s Innovation Day.

The Standing Bed is not only comfortable for patients but also for their caregivers since it is portable and user-friendly.