May-Jun 2010
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Auto Retractable Safety Syringe wins 2010 Medical Device Excellence Award

Globe Medical Tech – the maker of the FreeVac safety syringe – has received a 2010 Medical Design Excellence Award for the FreeVac Vacuum Operated Auto- Retractable Safety Syringe.

The FreeVac is a new patented safety syringe that comes with vacuum-operated automatic retractable technology. Designed with healthcare providers in mind, the FreeVac utilises vacuum force to retract the used needle into the barrel of the syringe after an injection is administered. This syringe is intended to replace conventional syringes and to reduce the possibility of needle stick injuries. Accidental needle stick injuries account for a significant number of injuries to medical professionals.

The Medical Design Excellence Awards competition is the only awards programme that exclusively recognises contributions and advances in the design of medical products. Entries are evaluated on the basis of their design and engineering features, including innovative use of materials, userrelated functions that improve healthcare delivery and change traditional medical attitudes or practices, features that provide enhanced benefits to the patient, and the ability of the product development team to overcome design and engineering challenges so that the product meets its clinical objectives.

“Every engineer told me the same thing at the beginning of the design work: It is impossible to create such a strong and fast vacuum force in a device as small as a 3 cc syringe,” said Andy Hu, President of Globe Medical Tech. “However, we were able to overcome the design challenges after two years of effort. This is yet another significant milestone which demonstrates Globe Medical Tech’s robust design and execution capabilities. I want express my great appreciation to our engineering team.”

The FreeVac’s major advantages include:

● Vacuum Force: It uses free air (vacuum force created when finishing the injection process and then further pushing the plunger cover). The vacuum force retracts the used needle into the barrel. This process serves to reduce defective rates and costs.

● Automatic needle retraction: Retraction requires no significant effort for users and reduces accidental needlestick injuries during procedures.

● No recapping: After the needle is retracted into the barrel, no recap over an exposed needle is required as is with the traditional syringe.

● One-handed operation: Keeps hand away from the needle during the entire injection process.

● Safety mechanism: Retraction of needle into the barrel permanently prevents the syringe from being reused or recycled.

● See brief demo on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/globemedtech

● For more information visit: www.globemedtech.com

Berchtold adds Endolite to Chromophare line

Berchtold, the specialist for OR equipment, has added the 360° EndoLite to its award-winning Chromophare LED surgical lighting line. Now, in addition to class-leading intensity, flexibility and ease of use, LED light offers a unified downward-facing and upward-facing ambient lighting system that provides illumination: down at the field for the surgeon; up and out to the back tables for the rest of the surgical staff.

At the touch of a button, the new 360° EndoLite provides light at the right time and in all the right places. It is ideal for endoscopic procedures.

● For more information visit: www.berchtold.biz

The ‘green’ syringe

Cambridge Consultants has launched a novel pre-filled syringe concept ‘Syreen’. With it innovative ‘green’ syringe design, Syreen is a safe and easy-to-use drug delivery device for selfadministration use. It is designed to ease material wastage associated with traditional syringe development and manufacture. Syreen syringes are made with COP (cyclic olefin polymer) plastic. The makeup of the Syreen allows syringes to clip together, nesting in a pack while the COP design doubles as the outer shell of the packaging itself. The Syreen therefore eliminates the need for wasteful fillers such as cardboard and styrofoam, reducing the packaging weight by 30% and volume by 50% from standard packaging.

To use Syreen, simply unclip the prefilled syringe and put it against the desired area on the skin. After delivery, with a simple snap, the user ejects the needle into the sharps bin, allowing the user to potentially recycle the plastic capsule. Patient and healthcare provider safety is also increased due to two further features of the design. Firstly, the COP plastic syringe features a curved surface over the needle that, while keeping the syringe from rolling and reducing needle-stick accidents, also ensures overall stability and depth control during injection. Secondly, the design insures that, with separated plunger and stopper, it is impossible to take in blood or other contaminants, reducing the risk of cross infection.

Cambridge Consultants is currently seeking to develop the Syreen concept with large pharmaceutical and pharmaceutical packaging companies.

● For more information visit: www.cambridgeconsultants.com

A completely new kind of ligation

Conventional electrocoagulation reaches its limit at vessels with a diameter of more than approximately 2 mm. In this case, haemostasis and a permanent seal can only be achieved with ligation bipolar vessel sealing: the bunched vessels or tissue are gripped by a special instrument and pressed together under a constant, specified level of pressure. Several automatically regulated cycles of current (less than 200 V, but with 4 A of power and an output of up to 250 W) “weld” the two opposing vessel walls together. With the new, quick Ligation ARC 350L V 2.6 this procedure lasts just 5 seconds on average and stops automatically when finished. This completely new method of controlling the sealing procedure is carried out with a variable number of pulses with programmable intensity.

Individual fine adjustment is also possible, depending on the instrument and the tissue. Exact preparation of the vessels is usually not required: entire bunches of tissue, complete with vessels, can be gripped and sealed. The process has the correct effect when the translucent white coagulation zone can be seen, within which the tissue can then be safely cut. In some cases it might be worthwhile creating two seals a short distance apart and making the incision between them. Using this device it is possible to carry out bipolar sealing in vessel up to 10 mm in diameter. It is endorsed for use up to 7 mm.

The tip of the instrument does get hot and it is therefore important to maintain a safe distance from sensitive tissue, and to be careful of causing accidental coagulation by touching tissue or by setting the instrument down.

Extensive research has been carried out to ascertain whether vessels sealed in this way are securely closed. After the procedure, the bursting pressure in more than 90% of cases was at more than 400 mm Hg (up to 900 mm Hg) – generally well above blood pressure values observed in clinical practice.

Bipolar vessel sealing has several main advantages over other procedures such as ligature, suture and the use of clips: quick preparation, quick and safe vessel sealing, no foreign bodies left in the area of the operation, and low costs. This means that there is a shorter operating time and less blood loss, which in turn means better care for the patient.

The integrated cutting function on the NightKNIFE reduces loss of time caused by changing instruments. The high degree of efficiency due to the concept of reusability is a particularly strong economic incentive for using the BOWA NightKNIFE, TissueSeal and LIGATOR ligation instruments. The fields of application for these sealing instruments extend from numerous open and laparoscopic interventions to the specialist areas of surgery, gynaecology and urology.

● For more information visit: www.bowa-medical.com

The first step to infection control in healthcare facilities

Studies have shown that approximately 10% of patients in hospitals in developed countries contract a hospital-acquired infection such as C. difficile Colitis, MRSA, or VRSA. These are just some of the superbugs giving facilities worldwide great concern. Attaining and maintaining a hygienic condition in healthcare facilities has become a major focus in the battle against hospital-acquired infections. And when inhabitants have compromised immune systems the threat of infection is further exacerbated.

It is a common misconception that maintenance departments only require disinfectants to prevent hospital-acquired infections. The Centre for Disease Control, USA states that organic residues such as blood, pus, urine or faecal material adversely influence the antimicrobial activity of disinfectants in many ways. Disinfectant interference commonly occurs by a chemical reaction between the germicide and the organic material resulting in a complex that is less germicidal or non-germicidal. Alternatively, organic material can protect microorganisms from attack by acting as a physical barrier. Body fluids once deposited on a surface also provide ideal breeding grounds for pathogens. If organic materials are not adequately removed they can be reinfected with microbes.

Advait Kotecha, General Manager, Aseem Trading, distributor for Bio-Pro Research’s ‘Urine Off’ and ‘Ecokleen’ cleaning products, states “Maximum effectiveness from disinfection results from first cleaning and removing organic materials. The core concept behind Urine Off and Ecokleen is to eliminate these organic residues to create a hygienic environment with no lingering odours. The first step to hygiene is proper cleaning.” The Urine Off and Ecokleen products use specialised enzymes and bacteria to “eat” body fluids, such as urine, blood and vomit, including their proteins. The products eliminate the source of the oldest stains from practically any surface without causing damage or discolouration. The products meet the strict EU standard for biodegradability and are safe to use because of their eco-friendly formula.

● For more information visit: www.bio-proresearch.com/



 Date of upload: 20th June 2010