In Oct 2011 Michael Seres became the 11th person in the UK to undergo a small bowel transplant at The Churchill Hospital, Oxford. During surgery he was given an ileostomy and had to cope with the ongoing issues of having a stoma such as the leaks and spills and trying to empty his bag in to a jug in order to provide output volume and timings to his doctors.

Currently there is no solution to these issues. Technology does not seem to have been used in this area of healthcare despite there being around 3 million people in the world with either a temporary or permanent stoma.
As an in-patient he observed that nurses often spend a great deal of their time helping empty bags and clearing spills whilst also having to remember to complete output data sheets as this information is highly useful for the physicians.

11Health and the Ostom-Alert was born in a hospital bed while founder Michael Seres was recovering from bowel surgery.

The Ostom-i Alert sensor attaches to any stoma bag simply and easily using Bluetooth technology to send signals to a free mobile app.

Ostom-I Alert automatically collates the data of output and timings then sends the information to your doctor.

From his hospital bed Michael started to look for solutions to make his quality of life better, and others in similar situations, and started developing a sensor. He began to order parts off e-bay and Nine months later the Ostom-i Alert Sensor was launched and 11health was born. The sensor attaches to any stoma bag simply and easily using Bluetooth technology to send signals to a free mobile app where you can set alerts to advise how full your bag is. If you want to be alerted when it is 60% full and then again at 90% full you just tap these pieces of information into the app and the sensor will keep an eye on things for you. As well as being able to alert you how full your bag is, the Ostom-I Alert automatically collates the data of output and timings then sending the information to your doctor. This allows for accurate data for the Doctor as well as you not having to guestimate how full your bag is. All this data and technology means no leaks and spills and no emptying of the bag into a jug to measure the output.

This self- management alongside remote monitoring are undoubtedly the future of healthcare. As a long term patient Michael knows how important monitoring is. However he wanted to develop a device that started life from the patient perspective. Understanding what will make a patient’s life simpler and of better quality has to be a key component when developing a device. He believes that his device does just that. It was developed by a patient for a patient and that is perhaps the most appealing factor of this product, it has the patient’s best interest at heart.

Surprisingly it was easier to launch in the USA than the UK. Their system is more commercial than ours and embraces patient innovation. The device is now being used by patients in hospital in Oxford but making inroads as an outsider in the NHS is a real challenge. One he is determined to overcome.