A handful of experts from UCLA partnered with Bruin Biometrics to produce the sub-epidermal moisture scanner. They recently tested it on more than 1,200 patients across 13 hospitals, and more than half of the facilities were able to completely eliminate new cases of bedsores.

One hospital that reduced bedsore occurrences to zero, St. Mary's Hospital, estimated that using the SEM Scanner would save £600,000 and free up 1,420 hours of nurse productivity a year.

"We've borrowed NASA's concept of 'Seeing the Unseen' to develop the first clinically-proven method for detecting unseen bedsores and alerting healthcare practitioners in real time when they begin to form under the skin," BBI VP of Product Rachael Lester said. "With early detection, clinicians can initiate treatment before chronic damage develops. More and more clinicians are using the SEM Scanner and finding that they can overcome avoidable PUs, proving that zero is no longer Mission: Impossible."