Peripheral intravenous catheters, or IVs, are a mainstay of providing therapies in modern medicine. Yet approximately 90 million people every year require multiple attempts to establish IV access, resulting in patient discomfort, increased hospital cost associated with employee time, and delays in delivering important therapies.
Description
ThreadRite is a modified standard catheter that immediately alerts clinicians to vein entry. Consisting of a modified standard IV cather connected to a lightweight reusable detection unit, ThreadRite employs a guidewire to help clinicians insert the IV properly on the initial attempt. Once in the vessel, the guidewire aids in catheter advancement. ThreadRite has the potential to reduce patient pain and lower provider costs associated with this incredibly common problem.
Applications
· Insertion of arterial catheters, pericardiocentesis catheters, and peritoneal catheters
· Placement of thoracostomy catheters into pleural effusions or pneumothoraces
· Insertion of catheters into cerebrospinal fluid
· Insertion of percutaneous tracheostomy tubes
Advantages
· Reduced patient pain and bruising from multiple failed attempts
· Reduced adverse events including infiltrations, phlebitis, infections, and bruising associated with multiple IV attempts
· Rapid delivery of potentially life-saving therapies such as blood, fluid, or antibiotics
· Reduction in cost to healthcare systems, with 1-2 hours saved per 8 hour shift, and freeing staff for other important tasks
Invention Readiness
The research has progressed to testing of the sensor in pigs, and the team is planning an initial human for the end of 2021/beginning of 2022. The team has also made good progress on new designs of the hardware that have been tested through additional user discovery.
IP Status
https://patents.google.com/patent/US20200206471A1
