Palarum
Palarum is a healthcare wearable IoT company that developed the patented PUP® SmartSocks™ eTextile system to detect and prevent patient falls in hospitals. It serves acute care hospitals, VA systems, academic medical centers, and senior-living facilities via direct enterprise sales of its hardware-plus-software platform.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2016
- HeadquartersLebanon, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Palarum does
Palarum is a healthcare e-wearable and IoT company founded in 2016 and headquartered in Lebanon, Ohio, that develops the patented PUP® (Patient Is Up) SmartSocks™ fall-prevention platform for use in acute care, rehabilitation, long-term care, and physical therapy settings. The core technology embeds tiny proprietary conductive threads directly into sock fabric to detect when a fall-risk patient's feet touch the floor, transmitting real-time alerts to paired in-room tablets, nursing-station displays, and a wearable Smart Badge carried by the three nearest nurses. The platform is extended by a cloud-based E-Rounding module (automated capture of hourly, leadership, RN-to-MD, and interdisciplinary rounding) and a Mobility analytics module that delivers gait, cadence, weight-distribution, and pressure heat-mapping for rehabilitation use cases.
The company monetizes through a combination of hardware sales (PUP® SmartSocks, nurse Smart Badges, and a K-12 School SafetyBadge variant), recurring software subscriptions for the E-Rounding and analytics platform, and supporting consulting services. Go-to-market is direct enterprise field sales targeting U.S. hospitals, Veterans Affairs systems, academic medical centers, and senior-living operators, supported by a free Fall Risk Calculator lead-generation tool and a content/PR-driven marketing mix. Named customers include the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (multi-site under a 2020 CRADA), Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Mayfield Brain & Spine, Westchester Medical Center Health Network, and Optimized Senior Living. Revenue is not publicly disclosed; the company is privately held, has raised approximately $19.25 million cumulatively across multiple SEC-registered rounds from 2017 through 2025, and operates with 11-50 employees.
Palarum firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Palarum
- Legal name
- Palarum, LLC
- Website
- https://palarum.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2016
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Palarum is a healthcare wearable IoT company that developed the patented PUP® SmartSocks™ eTextile system to detect and prevent patient falls in hospitals. It serves acute care hospitals, VA systems, academic medical centers, and senior-living facilities via direct enterprise sales of its hardware-plus-software platform.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Palarum industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Patient Safety Wearables
- NAICS
- Electromedical and Electrotherapeutic Apparatus Manufacturing (334510)
- SIC
- Electromedical & Electrotherapeutic Apparatus (3845)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Clinical-Grade Vital Signs Monitoring (ECG, SpO2, BP, Temp, Respiration) (HLACAPAI)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Wearables & Consumer IoT Integration Platforms (BYOD) (HLACAFAF), Connected Medical Devices & Wearables (Sensors, Patches, Implantables) (HLACAPAB)
Keywords
Where Palarum is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Lebanon
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Palarum business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Operations
Revenue model
- Hardware sales — PUP® SmartSocks and SmartBadges: Sale of proprietary eTextile smart socks and wearable smart badges (both healthcare fall-prevention and school safety variants) to enterprise customers. Devices include a small battery case and are paired with the software platform.
- Software platform subscription (E-Rounding & Data Analytics): Recurring software revenue from the Palarum enterprise/hospital-level dashboard for electronic rounding (hourly, leadership, RN-to-MD, nurse handoff, interdisciplinary rounding) and real-time data/analytics. Cloud-based service with daily PUP® reports covering stand events, nurse intervention, and outcomes.
- Consulting services: Consulting offerings listed alongside Solutions (Fall Prevention, E-Rounding), supporting hospital and post-acute customers in implementing fall-prevention programs and integrating PUP® technology into clinical workflows.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels7 records
Palarum product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Palarum sells the PUP® (Patient Is Up) SmartSocks™ — patented eTextile smart socks with proprietary conductive threads that detect when a fall-risk patient stands or walks unassisted and transmit real-time alerts to paired in-room tablets, Smart Badges worn by the three nearest nurses, and the nursing station. The hardware is sold alongside a cloud-based E-Rounding (electronic rounding) platform and a Mobility analytics module that delivers gait, cadence, weight-distribution, and heat-mapping data for clinical and rehabilitation use, with a derived SmartBadge variant adapted for K-12 school safety.
Product overview
Palarum's offering is a platform-plus-modules architecture built around a single core hardware product — the PUP® SmartSocks™ wearable — which is paired with companion software modules and adapted hardware variants. The core PUP SmartSocks (patented eTextile socks with conductive threads) feed a unified IoT system that issues real-time 'Stand Event' alerts to in-room tablets, nursing stations, and a companion Smart Badge worn by nurses. This hardware core is extended by an E-Rounding software platform (automated nurse/leadership/interdisciplinary rounding dashboard) and a Mobility analytics module (gait, cadence, weight distribution, and rehabilitation metrics). The same badge technology has been adapted into the School SafetyBadge for K-12 emergency alerting. Supporting tools include a public Fall Risk Calculator and a Consulting offering to help hospitals operationalize the platform.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- PUP® SmartSocks™: Patented eTextile-based smart sock wearable that detects when a patient stands or walks unassisted, issuing real-time alerts to nurses for fall prevention; "PUP" stands for "Patient Is Up".
- Palarum SmartBadge
Products and services
- PUP® SmartSocks™ Patented eTextile smart socks with proprietary conductive threads woven into conductive fabric that detect when a fall-risk patient's feet touch the floor. Designed for acute care, rehabilitation, long-term care, and physical therapy settings; clinical trials report a 73% reduction in patient falls and 40% reduction in false alarms versus traditional CMS benchmark alarms.
- PUP® Smart Badge (Nurse Notification Badge) Wearable badge paired with PUP SmartSocks that receives immediate alert notifications when a 'Stand Event' is detected. Displays alerts on the three nearest nurses' badges plus in-room tablets and nursing station tablets to enable fast response to unassisted patient ambulation.
- Palarum SmartBadge (School Safety Edition) Adaptation of Palarum's wearable badge technology for K-12 school safety. Sends staff-wide alerts to nearby teachers and administrators during safety emergencies on school grounds. Piloted in Mason (Hamilton/Butler County, Ohio) schools in 2024.
- Palarum E-Rounding (Electronic Rounding Platform) Cloud-based, integrated digital rounding platform with an enterprise- or hospital-level dashboard that tracks nurse, leadership, interdisciplinary, RN-to-MD, and nurse handoff rounding activity. Auto-captures patient visits and check-ins from PUP SmartSocks data, eliminating manual capture and reporting; supports HCAHPS improvement, length-of-stay reduction, and fall reduction.
- PUP Mobility Solution (Gait & Distribution Analytics) Software module that turns PUP SmartSocks sensor data into patient mobility analytics: live heat-mapping, progress charts, duration, cadence, distance, stride length, gait speed, weight distribution, step counts, and toe/heel strikes. Supports progressive mobility programs and rehabilitation therapy, including the Mayfield Brain & Spine spinal cord stimulation study.
- Palarum Consulting Advisory/consulting offering listed alongside Palarum's solutions to help hospitals implement fall-prevention programs and operationalize the PUP technology into clinical workflows.
Quantifiable outcome
- 73% reduction in patient falls (clinical trial results vs. CMS 3.75 falls per 1,000 patient days)
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use Palarum
Customer profileNamed customers6 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Palarum technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability5 records
Feature6 records
Palarum partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.
- Mayfield Brain & Spine / Mayfield Education & Research FoundationcoreClinical trial partnership using PUP® SmartSocks to measure gait speed and weight distribution to predict the impact of spinal cord stimulation and alleviate back pain. Featured on WVXU 'Focus on Technology' podcast in February 2023 and reported by Mayfield Foundation in December 2022.
- U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)flagshipCooperative Research and Development Agreement Program (CRADA) to evaluate Palarum's PUP® 'Smart Patient Sock' for reducing patient falls. PR issued November 12, 2020. This led to clinical studies at VA Palo Alto (3 hospitals) and a Boston Herald-reported implementation at VA Boston Healthcare System in August 2023.
- Ohio State University Wexner Medical CentercoreInstitutional Review Board (IRB) clinical evaluation of PUP® smart socks among high fall-risk patients; study launched in June 2019. Subsequently featured on Scripps National News (March 2023) as a flagship academic-medical-center deployment.
- TexisensecoreFrench company that manufactured the fabric pressure sensors and conductive leads embedded in Palarum's PUP® Smart Sock. Palarum's technology was featured during a visit by Bruno Le Maire, France's Minister of Economy and Finance, to Texisense in August 2018.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Palarum competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Stanley Healthcare (Securitas Healthcare): Securitas Healthcare (formerly Stanley Healthcare) is a large incumbent offering patient wandering, elopement, and falls-prevention solutions (Arial, WanderGuard) used widely across U.S. hospitals and senior living. Highly comparable because it competes for the same fall-prevention budget and nursing-leadership buyer, even though it spans a much broader portfolio.
- Medline (Restrata): Medline Industries, a major U.S. medical supply distributor, sells the Restrata wound and skin product line and bundles falls-prevention supplies into its hospital offering. Comparable as a broad incumbent in the same hospital falls-prevention purchasing motion, even though it does not specialize in wearable monitoring.
- Stryker (Vocera / Patient Handling): Stryker, a major medtech incumbent, sells patient handling, falls-prevention beds, and (via Vocera) clinical communication wearables used by nurses. Comparable because it competes for the same nursing-workflow and falls-prevention budget at large hospital systems, with overlapping buyer relationships even if the product modality differs.
Direct peers
- TIDI Products (Posey): TIDI Products owns the Posey fall-prevention brand, a long-established direct competitor to Palarum offering sensor-based falls products (bed/chair alarms, mobility systems) and related nurse-protection products for acute care. Closely comparable product category, customer base, and distribution channel.
- EarlySense: EarlySense provides contact-free, bed-sensor-based continuous patient monitoring for fall prevention, early deterioration detection, and vitals tracking in hospitals and post-acute settings. Direct competitor to Palarum on the same fall-prevention use case and enterprise hospital buyer, but with a non-wearable sensing architecture.
- AvaSure: AvaSure provides continuous virtual patient observation and falls monitoring via its AvaSys tele-sitter platform deployed in U.S. hospitals. Comparable because it directly competes for the same falls-reduction and nursing-workflow budget, though its modality is video-based rather than wearable.
- CareView Communications: CareView offers continuous video monitoring and patient-safety solutions (falls prevention, elopement, sitter replacement) for hospitals. Competes with Palarum in the same enterprise falls-prevention category and targets the same nurse-leadership buyer, but via a video/sensor-in-room architecture.
- Curbell Medical: Curbell Medical supplies patient monitoring, falls alarms, and nurse-call integration products to U.S. hospitals and post-acute providers. Direct competitor on the legacy alarm-based falls-prevention category, though with a hardware-and-cable architecture rather than a smart-textile one.
Emerging players
- VirtuSense Technologies: VirtuSense provides AI-driven fall-risk prediction and mobility assessment tools (VSTOne, VSTBalance) used in hospitals and senior living. Comparable in falls-prevention and mobility analytics use cases, particularly overlapping with Palarum's Mobility module, though focused on vision/AI rather than wearables.
- Vector Medical Innovations: Vector Medical Innovations develops wearable sensor products for fall risk and patient mobility monitoring. Closely comparable emerging wearable-fall-prevention peer targeting hospitals and rehabilitation, though smaller in commercial scale and breadth than Palarum.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Palarum social profiles
Digital presencePalarum compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
Palarum financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Palarum leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles6 records
Palarum funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds8 records
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Palarum M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Palarum
What does Palarum do?
Palarum sells the PUP® (Patient Is Up) SmartSocks™ — patented eTextile smart socks with proprietary conductive threads that detect when a fall-risk patient stands or walks unassisted and transmit real-time alerts to paired in-room tablets, Smart Badges worn by the three nearest nurses, and the nursing station. The hardware is sold alongside a cloud-based E-Rounding (electronic rounding) platform and a Mobility analytics module that delivers gait, cadence, weight-distribution, and heat-mapping data for clinical and rehabilitation use, with a derived SmartBadge variant adapted for K-12 school safety.
Is Palarum a public or private company?
Palarum is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Palarum founded?
Palarum was founded in 2016. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Palarum based?
Palarum is headquartered in Lebanon, United States, in the North America region.
How does Palarum make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Hardware sales — PUP® SmartSocks and SmartBadges are the primary driver. The others are software platform subscription (E-Rounding & Data Analytics) and consulting services.
Who are Palarum's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Stanley Healthcare (Securitas Healthcare), Medline (Restrata) and Stryker (Vocera / Patient Handling). Direct peers are TIDI Products (Posey), EarlySense, AvaSure, CareView Communications and Curbell Medical. Emerging players are VirtuSense Technologies and Vector Medical Innovations.
Does Palarum have an API?
No public API is recorded for Palarum.
What industry is Palarum in?
Palarum's product category is Patient Safety Wearables. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HLACAPAI, Clinical-Grade Vital Signs Monitoring (ECG, SpO2, BP, Temp, Respiration), with a secondary code of HLACAFAF, Wearables & Consumer IoT Integration Platforms (BYOD). Its NAICS code is 334510 and its SIC code is 3845.