Medical device development company, Medovate, has secured the exclusive rights to design, develop, and manufacture Arterial Glucosave, a solution for arterial line procedures.
Arterial Glucosave is designed to prevent errors during the use of arterial lines, one of the most commonly used products in intensive care medicine and anaesthesia. Arterial lines are routinely used to monitor blood pressure and obtain samples for arterial blood gas analysis.
In fast-paced critical care settings, there is a danger that the recommended sodium chloride flush solution for an arterial line can be confused with glucose. This can result in the incorrect administering of insulin to a patient which can cause hypoglycaemia and fatal neuroglycopenic brain injury due to a cascade of events. Arterial Glucosave works by alerting clinicians if a glucose containing solution is incorrectly attached to the arterial line, thus preventing any harm to the patient.
Robert Donald, investment manager of Medovate, said: “Taking a blood sample helps clinicians evaluate a patient’s blood chemistry quickly, so when a patient is taken into theatres or intensive care, the insertion of an arterial line is often one of the first procedures carried out. If a glucose-containing flush solution is accidentally attached to an arterial line, this error can then set off a chain of catastrophic events, which can result in fatal consequences.
“Mistakes in arterial line administration are reported approximately three times per month to NHS England, so finding an effective safeguard is essential. Thanks to Arterial Glucosave, there is now the very real prospect of eradicating this arterial line error, and saving lives.”
The solution was developed by Dr Maryanne Mariyaselvam and Dr Peter Young at The Queen Elizabeth Hospital King's Lynn NHS Foundation Trust and has received £114,000 funding from medical technology funding scheme, the Medtech Accelerator.
Anne Blackwood, CEO of Health Enterprise East, said: “We are proud to be working with the team at Medovate on the development of exciting medtech products that provide a solution to a common and potentially devastating medical problem. Previously funded through our proof of concept joint venture the Medtech Accelerator, we look forward to seeing this revolutionary innovation helping clinicians perform critical procedures safely and efficiently.”
