peopleCare delivers breakthrough results from AI wound care evaluation in LTC
peopleCare Communities announced today the results of a highly successful 12-month evaluation, funded by OBIO’s Life Sciences Critical Technologies and Commercialization (LSCTC) Centre of Excellence. This evaluation measured the clinical effectiveness of Skinopathy Wounds, an AI-powered wound care platform tailored to help nurses and residents in the long-term care (LTC) setting. The technology provides standardized image-based wound tracking, objective measurements, and clinical decision-making support, including product recommendations.
Managing skin wounds and pressure injuries is a complex and emotionally challenging process for long-term care (LTC) residents, particularly those with limited mobility. Across the province of Ontario, wound and pressure injury management in LTC homes remains one of the most time consuming areas of nursing, often relying on manual measurements and subjective assessment of wound staging.
To address this issue, the Skinopathy Wounds platform was integrated into peopleCare’s existing workflows without disrupting resident care or nursing routines. The evaluation, led on site by a peopleCare wound care nurse leader, confirmed that Skinopathy Wounds-supported assessments can significantly strengthen clinical accuracy, documentation quality and workflow efficiency in LTC. It also demonstrated how it can support frontline teams with more consistent, faster, and better documented wound assessments without disrupting resident care.
“Projects like this simply would not be possible without the funding, expertise, and infrastructure that OBIO® brings to innovation in health care,” says Jenn Killing, Vice President of Quality Research and Strategic Partnerships at peopleCare. “Their ability to connect emerging technology with real clinical environments is what makes it possible for LTC homes to safely evaluate new tools.”
Over a 12-month period, the platform was used during routine clinical practice at peopleCare’s Oakcrossing LTC home. The evaluation included 72 wound assessments across 16 unique wounds in 12 residents, with an average resident age of 83. Most wounds were pressure injuries, alongside a smaller number of arterial, venous and mixed ulcers. Traditional manual assessments were completed first, followed by a Skinopathy Wounds assessment. Nurses retained full clinical decision authority at all times.
The results exceeded typical industry benchmarks across all major performance measures. Below are a few of the highlights:
- AI-supported classification accuracy reached 82.6% overall (70-80% is typical) and 94.7% for pressure injuries (70-80% is typical)
- Documentation completion reached 98.6% (75-85% is typical)
- Average assessment time dropped to 6.5 minutes (10-15 min average)
- One in four difficult-to-heal wounds healed during the evaluation period, and more than one third were identified early for enhanced care
“peopleCare has shown exceptional leadership in this undertaking,” says Keith Loo, CEO and Co-Founder of Skinopathy. “Their culture of continuous improvement and their deep commitment to residents and frontline nurses created the conditions for this success, which is exactly why they continue to be recognized as one of Canada’s Platinum Level Best Managed Companies.”
The evaluation also demonstrated strong operational and financial impact. Based on observed efficiency gains and assessment frequency, annual nursing time and product savings were estimated between $3,500 and $8,500 per resident for a single home. Earlier identification of wounds needing enhanced care also supports better treatment planning, more appropriate product use, and the potential to reduce avoidable complications and emergency escalations.
“It is critically important to support Ontario-based medtech AI companies as they work to bring new solutions to market,” says Dr. Maura Campbell, President and CEO at OBIO®. “Skinopathy is the perfect example of what is being built in this province that can drive both clinical and commercial impact, and we are so proud of their remarkable accomplishments.”
This work reflects peopleCare’s vision to change the world of senior living through bold, purposeful innovation that elevates the experience of residents and the teams who support them. It reinforces the organization’s drive to pursue transformative solutions that have the potential to reshape care and inspire what’s possible across the sector.
“From the moment peopleCare saw this technology, we knew it had the potential to be genuinely game-changing for our staff and residents. Thanks to the funding and strong partnerships behind this evaluation, we were able to say yes, and the results demonstrate that tech can improve accuracy, efficiency, and give clinicians the insight they need to provide better care,” says Killing. “Now the goal is to keep that momentum going, including sharing the results broadly as well as advocating for the kind of system-level support that would allow every LTC home in the province to benefit from AI tools like this.”
RN Mazhar – charge nurse at Oakcrossing LTC – led the evaluation of Skinopathy Wound.
About peopleCare Communities
peopleCare is a Canadian, family owned and mission-driven leading operator of senior living communities, with strong values and a 57-year history of service. The organization is committed to engagement and collaboration to create vibrant communities of care that deliver meaningful experiences, clinical best practices, engaging programs and integrated services that meet the changing needs of Ontario’s older adults. peopleCare’s innovation focus and leadership has earned Accreditation Canada Exemplary Status, Canada’s Best Managed Companies Platinum designation, and the single largest research grant from the Ontario Centres of Excellence, which funded our award-winning Clinical Pharmacy Model, a first-of-its-kind for long-term care in Canada. For more information, please visit peoplecare.ca and follow peopleCare on LinkedIn.
About Skinopathy
Skinopathy is a Canadian medical AI company that helps dermatology patients get the right treatment at the right time by arming physicians, nurses, and pharmacists with digital health tools that enable them to screen, track, and manage skin conditions more effectively. Their work is already helping doctors and nurses provide better care for more patients. For more information, please visit skinopathy.com and follow Skinopathy on LinkedIn.
About OBIO®
OBIO®, a not-for-profit, membership-based organization dedicated to advancing health technology innovation and commercialization, is prioritizing the evaluation and implementation of new solutions using critical technologies through its Life Sciences Critical Technologies & Commercialization (LSCTC) Centre of Excellence, supported by the Government of Ontario. OBIO® is engaged in strategy, programming, policy development and advocacy to further the commercialization of human health technologies, positioning Canada as a leader in the international marketplace. For more information, please visit obio.ca and follow OBIO® on LinkedIn and X.
Media Contacts:
Sheena Campbell
Vice President, Communications and Engagement
peopleCare Communities
scampbell@peoplecare.ca
Richard Pietro
Partnerships Lead
Skinopathy
richard@skinopathy.com
Doriane Rey
Senior Manager, Marketing & Communications
OBIO®
dorianerey@obio.ca
