Innovative Products: The PICC Band

Chaitenya Razdan, co-founder of Care+Wear, tells us about the company’s first product in creating “innovative healthwear for patients everywhere”

Family and friends, like our friend Caroline who helped to design the initial Band, struggled with a range of complex emotions, including the isolation that often comes from being seriously ill. Quite suddenly, the individual is a patient first and a person second. Caroline had a PICC line and was advised to use a tube sock to protect and cover the site, which made an uncomfortable treatment even more awkward. Caroline’s bulky tube sock became a constant reminder of her illness.

In creating the Band, we designed a PICC line arm cover that is as functional as it is fashionable. Not only does the Band allow for the breathability that the PICC line dressing requires, but it’s also made with a flexible, antimicrobial fabric that offers the mobility, discretion and the peace of mind that patients need to do the everyday things that make them feel more like themselves. In one small way, Care+Wear wants to help patients living with PICC lines to see themselves as people first, and patients second.

We are actively involved in spreading information and awareness about Breast Cancer (and other illnesses that require PICC line insertions) because we want others to know that the diagnosis is not a death sentence. A part of our company mission is to increase education around cancer treatments and products that enable and encourage men, women, boys and girls to continue the social and active lifestyle to which they are accustomed. We want to do our part to help protect, comfort, support and inspire patients to live their life!

We knew so little about PICC lines before Caroline’s diagnosis. We’ve since learned that 6 million PICC lines are prescribed each year to the nearly 14 million people diagnosed with cancer each year, in addition to the 300,000 individuals who are prescribed PICCs as a result of Lyme disease and a number of other types of illnesses. While Caroline was unable to utilize the Band on her PICC line several years ago, we are motivated to find creative solutions and develop innovative products that will define what we’ve dubbed “the healthware” industry for years to come.

To learn more about the PICC Band, visit: http://www.careandwear.com

Chat is a proud University of Virginia alum with an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business who spent time as a strategy consultant at A.T. Kearney and as an investment banker at Goldman Sachs. Nicknamed "Smiley" in middle school basketball camp, he has tried to bring a smile wherever he goes. A die-hard Baltimore fan, he continues to cheer for the Orioles and Ravens and can often be found running up the West Side Highway in the mornings. In his spare time, he helps to plan his class reunions for UVA and Booth and serves on young alumni boards for UVA.