MedPro and Greiner

MedPro Safety Products, has entered into two medical supply manufacturing agreements with Greiner Bio- Read more

Redesigned peripheral IV catheter

The launch of the VantageCath has seen a radical redesign of the traditional peripheral IV catheter. Designed to not only prevent unexpected needlestick injuries, but also to eliminate the spillage of blood during the IV placement. The device is a product of a firm called Advantage Medical Devices from Solana Beach, CA.

Advantage Medical Devices state:

“The VantageCath is an innovative peripheral Intravenous (IV) Catheter Safety System designed to significantly reduce blood borne pathogen exposure without compromising the “pop and glide” that users want and need. Utilizing a patented “closed hub” design, blood is contained during the entire cannulation and needle retraction process. This eliminates the need to tamponade above the site of the IV catheter and allows the provider to have both hands free to secure the IV and attach tubing using sterile technique”.

Click here to view product animation.

Click here to view product page.

Needle and syringe redesigned

Christopher Holden has won an award redesigning the traditional needle and syringe. The ‘MediDome’ aims to eliminate needlestick injuries, simplify the process and speed up patient treatment.

Christopher has won a National Patient Safety Award of £3000 and NCR Internship worth £4000 for a duration of four weeks.

Christopher explains how the product works:

“A sterile cover is removed to expose adhesive wings that stick the MediDome to the required area for injection. The person administering the injection removes the blister cap and presses down on the top of MediDome until a little resistance is felt. A bubble on one of the wings is checked for blood - if it fills up the injection is halted. If all is well, they then give a small firm press until a click is heard, then softly compress and hold the dome. On release, MediDome returns to its original shape (but cannot be compressed again), is removed from the arm and disposed of for incineration. It is a fail safe single use design - once used it can never be used again, so syringes cannot be shared, and viruses such as HIV or blood born diseases cannot be passed on”.

Click here for more information.

 

VisIV container reduces IV waste

Kennedy Health System recently announced that it has implemented the VisIV flexible intravenous container. Read more

Fresenius acquire APP

Fresenius will acquire APP Pharmaceuticals, the US manufacturer of intravenous drugs, for $3.7 billion (£1.9 billion) in a deal that will help the German dialysis specialist break into the American market.

APP, the second-largest maker of intravenous generic drugs in the United States, will complement Fresenius’ Kabi unit, a global supplier of infusions and gastric tube feeding equipment, which so far has lacked a U.S. presence.

APP shareholders will receive $23 a share in cash, a 29 per cent premium to the last closing share price.

Follow the link for the full story in the Times or here for Forbes.

VuStik Inc.

VuStik Inc. has developed a machine that helps nurses decide where to stick a needle for intravenous access

Read more

Cardinal Health profits

The chief financial officer of Cardinal Heath Inc. Jeff Henderson, says the health care products and services company expects revenue to grow “at about market” as the company works to improve its drug distribution and clinical and medical products units.

Over time, Henderson said the company plans to have as much as 40 percent of its profits come from its other division, clinical and medical products. He said there is room to improve overseas sales for the Alaris business, which distributes intravenous drug delivery systems and monitoring products.

Henderson said the clinical and medical products business is focused on improving health care safety. He pointed to growing concerns about hospital-borne infections, which have received increased media attention because of outbreaks of drug-resistant staph infections.

Click here for the full story.

 

Zingo™

In August 2007, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Zingo™ (lidocaine hydrochloride monohydrate) powder intradermal injection system to provide local analgesia prior to venipuncture or peripheral IV starts in children three to 18 years of age.

Anesiva the company behind Zingo™ have informed IVTEAM that this new product will be available from June 27th 2008.

Zingo™ delivers a powder form of lidocaine. Instead of using a needle to deliver the analgesic, Zingo™ uses compressed gas to accelerate the lidocaine particles into the skin. This provides analgesia in one to three minutes.

The Zingo™ website can be seen here and the Zingo™ package insert/instructions for use can be seen here.

For more information on Zingo™ send an e-mail to medinfo@anesiva.com

Readers may also benefit from reading about a study into needlefree lidocaine administration on our literature pages.

UPDATE - GE Capital extends loan deal with Anesiva, waives default.

What is a PICC?

It is always helpful to have introductory type materials available that can begin to explain complex vascular access devices.

This particular article is aimed at the Emergency Responder, however anyone looking for a basic introductory description of central venous access devices will benefit from this article. The author, Marc A. Minkler, NREMT-P, CCEMT-P, is a paramedic/firefighter with the Portland (ME) Fire Department.

Marc explains “When confronted with a patient with a central venous access device (CVAD), many providers hesitate before using the device, due to concerns about misuse, infection and dislodgement. The reality is that providers’ familiarity with the various devices and techniques used to access patients can make their ability to provide complete ALS care much easier” (Minkler 2008).

Click here to view the full article.

You may also find our PICC patient information leaflet useful - click here.

CathRite at INS

During our time at the 35th INS conference in Phoenix, Arizona we have viewed many products at the industrial exhibition. However, one product stood out from the rest. This product was innovative, easy to use and appears to have been designed with both patient and clinician needs in mind.

As we know, ensuring accurate PICC tip location is an essential element of safe PICC placement. Too short and the patient is at a greater risk of thrombus formation. Too long, issues such as arrhythmia’s may develop. Also, during placement, the PICC may not ‘travel’ along the route that you expect. This may result in PICC tip locations that are unsuitable, such as jugular or azygous vein tip location.

In the past, we have relied upon radiographic type imaging to determine tip location, either during or after PICC placement… excerpts from the Micronix website illustrate the benefits of this device… the frontal and lateral views in the demonstration appeared to be particularly useful!

“This real-time schematic representation of the placement procedure provides a continuous display of the passage and position of the tip of the catheter in relation to anatomical landmarks. The ‘live tracking’ display shows frontal and lateral views simultaneously, enabling medical practitioners to make real-time adjustments of catheter tip positions during placement, and eliminating the need for X-rays. The Technology improves patient care by enabling prompt delivery of vital medication. The Technology is simple, intuitive and inexpensive.”

“Every CVC placement performed using CathRite™ uses a disposable kit, consisting of a catheter, a guiding insert and other low value ancillary items. The RU (placed on the patient’s chest) receives the low-energy electromagnetic signal that is generated by the guiding insert. The MU processes the EMF signal and displays (in real-time) the movement of the catheter as placement occurs. The record of placement is printed out for inclusion into the patient’s case notes. When the placement is completed, the guiding insert is removed from the catheter and discarded”

We look forward to seeing this product in clinical use.

 

Infection benchmarking tool

We first reported news about the MedMined system from Cardinal Health in February 2008 (Click here for original post). We can now report that 46 Alabama hospitals are using the tool to benchmark their infection rates with their state peers.

Cardinal Health report “The MedMined benchmarking tool, produced by Cardinal Health, graphs the incidence of health care associated infections (HAIs) in all of the units in a hospital to visually present the current infection rate compared to its peers… Hospitals can compare their incidence of HAIs with other hospitals in the same peer category… The benchmarking capability will be rolled out to hospitals across the country starting in May”. Click here for the full report.

 

Syringe drivers in palliative care

John Costello, Brian Nyatanga, Carole Mula and Jenny Hull have written about the benefits and drawbacks of syringe drivers in palliative care.

“This article will outline the use of continuous subcutaneous infusion pumps, known as syringe drivers, including their benefits and drawbacks in a palliative care context. There have been over 5000 articles published globally describing syringe drivers in the medical and nursing literature in the last decade. Many provide guidance on their use, although much of the data are repetitious, disease or age-group specific, and focussed on pragmatic issues to do with clinical application. Several trusts and hospices across the UK are carrying out trials of the recently launched McKinley T34 syringe driver. Therefore, it seems timely to consider their wider use internationally. Globally, practitioners in palliative care are very familiar with their use, although the literature lacks specific guidance and, at times, the information is ambiguous. Having briefly reviewed their benefits, the article considers the limitations  of using syringe drivers and comments on some of the lesser known/reported practical and patient-focussed drawbacks associated with their use. We conclude by considering why, when so much education and training exists to help practitioners use these devices effectively, so many human errors occur” (Costello et al 2008).

Reference

Costello J. et al (2008) The benefits and drawbacks of syringe drivers in palliative care. International Journal of Palliative Nursing. 14(3), p.139-144.

Intraosseous in Dubai

The Khaleej Times reports that paramedics in Dubai are to begin a trial of the intraosseous (IO) route for intravenous access in four mobile intensive care units. The IO route allows for emergency vascular drug administration when venous access is unobtainable e.g. severe burns.

 

3M launch chlorhexidine IV dressing

3M have developed a range of IV dressings that incorporate chlorhexidine gluconate. Click here for further information

3M acquire Les Entreprises Solumed

3M Canada have acquired Les Entreprises Solumed. 3M medical division vice president Chuck Kummeth stated… “The addition of Solumed positions 3M for growth in the fast-growing segment of intravenous site care and in preoperative care and hand hygiene, where CHG-based products are gaining momentum” Click here for more information. 

BARD buy safety needle

The IV device market continues to  consolidate as BARD pay $68 million for Specialized Health Products International Inc… the company primarily make safety needles for the intravenous chemotherapy market.

“The deal represents a good fit, in our view, and should be neutral to earnings in 2008,” said Lehman Brothers analyst Bob Hopkins, in a note to investors.Click here for the full story. 

Cardinal acquires Enturia

“Cardinal Health, a global providor of products and services that improve the safety and productivity of health care, today announced a definitive agreement to acquire the assets of privately held Enturia  Read more

Electronic infection surveillance

Cardinal Health in the US use information technology to help reduce healthcare-acquired infections. Read more

Intervene distribute Surety safety needle

Intervene has begun to distribute the Surety safety needle. The Surety needle is the World’s first manually retractable, hypodermic safety needle that can be used with standard slip luer and luer lock syringes. For further information check out the Intervene website.