Medical Design Excellence Awards 2013: Finalist Products Enhance Efficiency

This year, as in 2012, many MDEA finalist products were influenced by the still-unfolding Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act—specifically its push to make the overburdened U.S. healthcare system more efficient.

“The healthcare worker is being stretched thinner and thinner,” says juror Edward G. Chekan, MD, director of medical education at device manufacturer Ethicon Endo-Surgery (Cincinnati) and a speaker at the upcoming MD&M East conference in Philadelphia. “They’re being forced to be more and more efficient, and cover more and more people’s needs. They can’t poke around too long trying to find a vein.” 

The AccuVein AV400 vein illumination system, a finalist in the critical-care and emergency medicine category manufactured by AccuVein Inc. (Cold Spring Harbor, NY), was designed to solve just such a problem. The handheld device uses infrared technology to project a map of a patient’s vasculature onto the surface of the skin to assist in procedures including IV starts, blood drawing, and surgery.

“The importance of efficient and effective venous access cannot be overstated when you consider that venipuncture is the most common invasive medical procedure, that blood test results inform 70% of medical decisions, and that prompt IV starts are so basic to medical care,” AccuVein wrote in its MDEA submission.

Using the AV400, a pediatric infusion center reduced the need for three or more needlesticks in pediatric patients by nearly two-thirds, according to an independent study AccuVein cited in its submission. Fewer sticks also reduce the chance of infection, and because the device never touches the skin, it can be used on multiple patients without being sterilized, according to the company. Overall, the pediatric infusion center was able to cut labor and supply costs by 8% per patient using the AV400, according to the study.

Bard Access Systems’ (Salt Lake City) PowerGlide midline catheter, a finalist in the general hospital and therapeutic devices category, is also aimed at increasing efficiency in the healthcare system. The device features an all-in-one insertion mechanism that simplifies placement, enabling a nurse practitioner—rather than a higher-paid peripherally inserted central catheters team or interventional radiology physician—to perform the procedure. The catheter can also remain in place for 29 days (more than seven times longer than a peripheral IV catheter) and can be placed faster than competing midline catheters, according to the manufacturer.

Patient monitoring systems have become another way for medical device companies to answer the healthcare system’s demand for efficiency. One example is ViSi Mobile, a platform for comprehensive vital signs monitoring made by Sotera Wireless (San Diego) that was named a finalist in the general hospital category. The ViSi Mobile enables clinicians to continuously monitor blood pressure, pulse, 3- or 5-lead electrocardiogram, oxygen saturation, respiration rate, and skin temperature on mobile or immobile patients with wireless, body-worn sensors. In addition to helping healthcare providers avoid adverse events by detecting patient deterioration early, the system sends information about patients' vital signs to their electronic health records, saving time and reducing errors. 

The 2013 MDEA winners will be announced at June 19 at MD&M East. 

Jamie Hartford is MD+DI's managing editor. 

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