Friday, May 30, 2008

MediDome Drug Injector Is Designed with Patient in Mind

Filed under: Medicine , Pediatrics

Christopher Holden, a 21 year old student, thinks he has the answer to an old medical combo of needle and syringe. His little design project called MediDome has been getting accolades from RSA (Royal Society for the Encouragements of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce), and is now being patented by his school, Northumbria University in Newcastle.

RSA explains how the device works:

Christopher's project, 'MediDome', redesigns the needle and syringe. It aims to eliminate needlestick injuries and the fear of needles and injections, simplify the process and speed up patient treatment. The product's aesthetics show a softer, friendlier and less threatening form, and MediDome has a unique tester to ensure that a vein has not been ruptured during intramuscular or subcutaneous injection. 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. It is made from a soft flexible plastic, pre-filled with a measured drug dose (eliminating the need for priming), all manufactured in one factory as one product, which means lower cost production. MediDome uses a universal colour coding drug system - the ring is a different colour depending on which drug is in the pre-filled reservoir. Minimal packaging reduces the product's carbon footprint, and a large label area contains all necessary information, such as drug name and dosage. The peel off adhesive cover also acts as a tamper alarm - it changes colour if the product has been ruptured or tampered with. A companion product, the Absorption MediDome, works in the same way for drugs such as painkillers and certain antibiotics but without the needle. During his research, Christopher consulted the Head of Clinical Governance and Risk, the Chief of Electronics and Medical Engineering, and the Head of Health and Safety Adviser (the latter also a former nurse) at the Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. MediDome would also bring benefits when used in military and natural disaster situations, and mass immunisation in developing countries.

Project page: MediDome...

Press release: Novel replacement for conventional needle and syringe...

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