Global Health Technology: Confidence on the go: Norwegian innovation in stoma and wound care

By Maria Sødal Vole | Photos and Video: Global Health Technology

Norwegian MedTech company Global Health Technology is making an impact in the international healthcare industry. Its groundbreaking stoma and wound care solutions promise to improve quality of life for patients.

Founded in Stavanger in 2010, Global Health Technology takes an innovative approach to developing healthcare solutions that truly make a difference in people’s lives. Founder and retired nursing assistant Jofrid Erland knows firsthand how important it is to develop healthcare products that actually address the problems and challenges that patients face. In 2007, her husband was diagnosed with colon cancer and returned from the hospital with a stoma bag. The couple soon discovered that the ostomy bags available in Norway were unable to prevent leakage coming into contact with skin and clothes. This has a major impact on patients’ quality of life and ability to work, travel, and have a fulfilling social life.

Searching for better solutions on the international market, Erland realised that there were simply no effective, comfortable options protecting against leakage and odour. Gaining a better understanding of the challenges and needs of people living with a stoma through speaking with others in similar situations, she sewed a prototype that would absorb leakage while providing greater comfort and security.

Erland worked with industrial designer Slip before bringing her prototype to iPark, now Validé, an international centre for research, innovation and business development. Her story and self-made prototype gained plenty of interest, and Erland teamed up with several expert developers and supporters. The work has culminated in a range of advanced stoma and wound care solutions that aims to improve patient outcomes and help people regain their quality of life. Today, the products are sold in Europe and the Middle East, with ongoing international expansion.

Global Health Technology: Confidence on the go: Norwegian innovation in stoma and wound care

Award-winning, user-driven solutions

It is estimated that around 13.5 million people around the world live with an ostomy bag, and the vast majority of them experience leakage at least once. Most people with a stoma report frequent or recurring leakage that affect their quality of life.

“One leak is one leak too many. It’s a difficult and distressing experience that makes a lot of people retreat from social life in fear of leaks occurring while they’re out in public or at work,” says Erland. “Our driving force is making sure everyone has a good quality of life and can move around freely to do all the things most of us take for granted. I’ll never stop fighting for it, because I know how important it is.”

Global Health Technology’s innovative solutions for stoma and wound care have been warmly welcomed on the international market. In fact, the company won the Innovation of the Year 2025 award at the prestigious DEWU German Wound and Care Congress in Bremen for two products: Erland Care Protective Skin and Erland Care Stoma Pad. The company also won the Social Care Premier Supplier Healthcare Award 2022 in the UK.

The patented Stoma Pad is a groundbreaking solution that was developed over the course of a decade, with input from stoma patients. The result is a new type of superabsorbent stoma pad that reduces risk of leakage by stabilising the pouch plate, as well as absorbing potential leakage. In fact, the Stoma Pad can absorb up to 15 times its own weight. The pad consists of a perforated soft silicone layer that is placed directly on the skin, with an inner pad made of liquid-absorbing material covered with a breathable film. The product ensures safe and stable attachment of bag and plate, reducing the risk of leakage and offering wearers better security as they move through their day.

Global Health Technology: Confidence on the go: Norwegian innovation in stoma and wound care

Product to optimise wound healing

Based upon the cutting-edge Stoma Pad technology, the company has developed a range of wound care products available in different sizes for various indications. The award-winning Erland Care Protective Skin is a multifunctional, skin-friendly wound dressing suitable even for those with very sensitive skin, such as patients with Epidermolysis Bullosa (butterfly skin). “We tested a lot of silicon adhesives in our design process, and it took a long time to find the best composition,” says CEO Rikard Olsson. “It has to attach well to be secure, but not so well that it disturbs the healing wound upon removal.”

Breathable and waterproof, the dressings are designed to optimise wound healing and offer pain-free removal. Though Erland Care Protective Skin is light and thin, it contains a superabsorbent element which binds wound fluid and activates fibres that improves healing. Reimbursement of Erland Care Protective Skin and Erland Care Stoma Pad varies across markets.

Developing a medical product is demanding, time-consuming and costly. “It’s not the easiest industry for creating new products as it’s strictly regulated, so you need a lot of passion and drive to not give up when encountering challenges,” Olsson says. He points out that passion is one thing Jofrid Erland has in abundance. “She is the driving force behind everything we do.”

“It’s been a long journey, but I’ve had fantastic help. So many talented people have helped us develop, in my view, the world’s best bandage for wounds and stoma. Winning the innovation award in Germany was a huge achievement for all of us,” Erland concludes. “I have high hopes for the future – I want as many people as possible to be helped by our products.”

Global Health Technology: Confidence on the go: Norwegian innovation in stoma and wound care