The Versa by Cork Medical has been named a 2025 HME Business New Product Award winner in the Wound Care category by HME Business.
The HME Business New Product Awards program recognizes outstanding innovations throughout the home medical equipment (HME) industry across a range of technology categories, from respiratory and sleep to mobility, accessibility and urological supplies. Mike Cates, President of Cork Medical, sat down with HME Business to share more about the Versa solution and share his thoughts on the future of the industry. To learn more about the HME Business New Product Awards and view all of the 2025 winners, visit https://hme-business.com/new-product-awards/.
HMEB: Tell us about the Versa solution, including its top features and benefits.
Cates: Cork Medical’s Versa is a compact, lightweight Negative Pressure Wound Therapy (NPWT) device designed to make advanced wound care more accessible and affordable across care settings. Weighing under one pound, Versa is portable, easy to operate, and appropriate for home care, long-term care, and acute care environments. Key features include continuous and intermittent therapy modes, on-screen alarm troubleshooting, a quick-release 100 ml canister, and up to one week of battery life using replaceable AA lithium batteries, as well as AA rechargeable battery sets. Versa uses standard wound dressing kits available in small, medium, and large sizes, allowing clinicians to match therapy to wound size and patient needs.
HMEB: In designing this product, what were the top goals of the design team/engineers? What did they most seek to achieve?
Cates: The primary goal was to remove the financial, operational, and usability barriers that have traditionally limited access to NPWT. The design team focused on creating a device that was affordable, intuitive, and clinically effective — without sacrificing performance. Versa was engineered to be simple for clinicians to deploy and easy for patients to manage, while also reducing the logistical burden of tracking, repairing, and maintaining expensive device fleets.
HMEB: Who and/or what were the inspirations for your winning product’s functionality, features and design elements?
Cates: Versa was inspired by both clinicians and patients who needed a simpler, more practical NPWT solution. Feedback from wound care professionals highlighted frustrations with complex interfaces, high costs, and limited availability of traditional systems. Patients and caregivers also influenced the design, particularly the need for portability, long battery life, and straightforward troubleshooting — features that make therapy more manageable in real-world care settings.
These unmet needs sparked a pivotal conversation between Cork Medical CEO Patrick McGinley and Cork Medical Clinical Engineer Matt Cranfill. Their vision was to build a device that would be cost-effective, carry a smaller footprint, be as sleek and mobile as a cellular device, and still deliver the robust clinical benefits of traditional NPWT devices. That conversation became the cornerstone of the Versa project.
HMEB: Who benefits from your product? Can you offer a “typical” client profile?
Cates: Versa benefits a broad range of patients requiring NPWT, including those with chronic, surgical, traumatic, or complex wounds. A typical patient may be recovering from a surgical procedure, managing a pressure injury, or living with a non-healing wound. Clinicians also benefit from Versa’s simplicity and affordability, which allows them to initiate NPWT earlier in the treatment process rather than reserving it as a last-resort option.
HMEB: Does your winning product offer adjustability or customizability for the different needs of different consumers/users?
Cates: Yes. Versa offers both continuous and intermittent therapy modes, allowing clinicians to tailor treatment based on wound characteristics. The availability of multiple dressing kit sizes further supports customization, ensuring appropriate wound coverage while maintaining effective negative pressure. These options allow Versa to adapt to a wide variety of wound types and care environments.
HMEB: How does your winning product optimize independence, function, safety, confidence, success with everyday goals, etc., for its users?
Cates: Versa’s lightweight, portable design allows patients to remain mobile and engaged in daily activities while receiving therapy. On-screen alarm guidance and simple operation improve confidence for both patients and caregivers, reducing anxiety around device management. For clinicians, Versa supports patient compliance, allowing more consistent therapy delivery while helping patients remain in lower-acuity settings whenever possible — promoting independence and continuity of care.
HMEB: What funding options are available for this product?
Cates: Versa is designed to fit within existing NPWT reimbursement structures and care models. Its affordability also allows facilities and providers flexibility in deployment, including use as a single-patient or reusable device. This cost-effective approach helps reduce financial barriers while supporting broader access to NPWT across multiple care settings. Versa opens the door for healthcare facilities that might have previously been priced out of the market to access NPWT on their financial terms.
HMEB: What makes a product or service an HME Business New Product Award winner? What advice do you have for future entrants?
Cates: An HME Business New Product Award winner solves a real problem in a meaningful way. Versa stands out because it improves access to proven therapy while reducing size, complexity and cost — benefiting patients, clinicians, and providers alike. Our advice to future entrants is to listen closely to the people using your product every day and design with their challenges in mind. Innovation is most impactful when it improves outcomes while making care easier, more efficient, and more accessible.
