Sub-epidermal Moisture (SEM) Scanning Reduces Hospital-Acquired Pressure Injury (Hapi) Risk by Over 80% While Eliminating Racial Disparities in Early Detection

First-to-Podium research presented at HMP Global’s 2026 Symposium on Advanced Wound Care (SAWC) Fall

Key Findings:

• Comparative evidence from 8,010 adult patients across nearly 19,400 assessments demonstrates that sub-epidermal moisture (SEM) scanning achieved an over 80% relative reduction in hospital-acquired pressure injury (HAPI) incidence compared to standard visual assessment.
• SEM-guided care reduced overall HAPI incidence from 1.70% to 0.24%, averaging 14.6 fewer pressure injuries per 1,000 patients.
• Objective detection of HAPI with SEM eliminates visual assessment blind spots that disproportionately put patients with darker skin tones at a disadvantage.
• SEM scanning provides a rapid return on investment in year one, cutting costs and significantly reducing pressure injury deaths and excess hospital stay days for high-risk patients.

A new study presented today during the First-to-Podium program at the 2026 Symposium on Advanced Wound Care (SAWC) Fall found that sub-epidermal moisture (SEM) scanning radically reduces hospital-acquired pressure injuries (HAPIs) and solves persistent health equity disparities that plague visual skin assessments. The meta-analysis, which evaluated objective biophysical tissue assessment, was presented by Rhonda Sullivan, DNP, PhD, CWON, Vice President of Implementation & Clinical Outcomes at Bruin Biometrics, LLC. Researchers conducted a PRISMA-guided systematic review and meta-analysis of comparative evidence from 2019 through 2026 evaluating the FDA-cleared Provizio® SEM Scanner across 8,010 patients and approximately 19,383 clinical assessments. Despite standard protocols relying almost entirely on visual inspection and skin-tone charts, the investigation revealed that visual cues routinely fail to detect deep tissue deformation before irreversible skin breakdown occurs, especially affecting diagnosis of HAPIs in individuals with darker skin tones.

Overcoming Visual Assessment Blind Spots and Addressing Racial Inequities

Current pressure injury prevention strategies depend heavily on visual detection of erythema and manual palpation. However, early tissue damage begins beneath intact skin as localized inflammatory edema days before visual changes appear on the surface. Furthermore, relying on visual detection creates profound racial disparities as patients with darker skin tones are twice as likely to develop pressure injuries and four times as likely to die from them. The problem is further exacerbated by clinical knowledge deficits: fewer than 10% of images in foundational nursing textbooks depict dark skin tones. While subjective skin-tone scales identify that a patient has darker pigmentation, they cannot diagnose subsurface tissue damage, determine where damage is developing, or independently trigger preventative intervention.

The study evaluated the Provizio® SEM Scanner, an objective, skin-tone agnostic biosensor that measures localized bio-capacitance at the sacrum and heels (using a validated clinical differential threshold of Δ ≥ 0.6) to detect non-visible pressure injury 3 to 10 days before visible changes emerge. Across the pooled comparative meta-analysis, SEM-guided care reduced HAPI incidence from 1.70% to 0.24%, representing an 81.4% relative risk reduction and 14.6 fewer HAPIs per 1,000 patients. In critical care units not using SEM, 100% of HAPIs (8 of 8) occurred in African American patients; however, with SEM-guided implementation, there were zero HAPI occurrences across the entire cohort.  The data analysis revealed that SEM scanning shifted prevention from reactive visual inspection to proactive, biology-based intervention while skin is still intact and damage is still reversible, and this was consistent across all skin tones.

Transforming Healthcare Economics and Clinical Standards of Care

Beyond delivering clinical efficacy and diagnostic equity, SEM-guided care generated substantial economic value for healthcare systems by redirecting resources to precise anatomical areas under stress. Health economic modeling demonstrated a net monetary benefit of $39,335 and savings of $4,054 per acute care admission (+0.35 QALYs), achieving a full return on investment within one year. For every 1,000 high-risk admissions, SEM-guided intervention avoids 7 pressure-injury-related deaths, prevents 206 excess hospital bed days, and optimizes resource allocation by reducing unnecessary dynamic therapy surface usage by 11% to 33%. As healthcare institutions align with value-based care and patient safety mandates, this meta-analysis confirms that objective SEM assessment provides the clinical and financial foundation necessary to replace subjective visual screening with standardized, equitable preventative care.

About SAWC Fall

The Symposium on Advanced Wound Care (SAWC) Fall brings the multidisciplinary wound care team together each year in Las Vegas. Held since 2009, SAWC Fall is part of HMP Global’s flagship wound care franchise, which has convened the field since 1988. The 2026 meeting, October 15–18, draws physicians, surgeons, nurses, advanced practice providers, podiatrists, physical therapists, dietitians and researchers from all 50 states and 20 countries. The program pairs the latest evidence with hands-on workshops and case-based discussion on the developments reshaping the field, from AI-driven diagnostics and advanced wound imaging to biologic therapies, mobile care delivery and vascular approaches to limb salvage, while 139 exhibiting companies bring new technologies to the exhibit hall. Learn more at hmpglobalevents.com/sawcfall.

 About HMP Global

HMP Global is the trusted leader in healthcare events, education and omnichannel engagement, with a mission to improve patient care by bringing the healthcare community together. For more than 40 years, the company has built trusted brands that healthcare professionals rely on throughout their careers, including Psych Congress, the nation’s leading conference on practical psychopharmacology; the Symposium on Advanced Wound Care (SAWC), the world’s largest wound care meeting; EMS World Expo; NEI; LINC; and Advances in IBD. Today, HMP Global’s portfolio includes 27 brands and 83 events that connect more than 2 million healthcare professionals with more than 6,000 leading experts through live experiences, accredited education, year-round engagement through HMP Collective, and first-party clinician intelligence powered by Viia, creating one of the largest healthcare engagement ecosystems. Learn more at hmpglobal.com or follow the company on LinkedIn.