In the November/December 2017 issue of Surgical Products, the winners of this year’s Excellence In Surgical Products (ESP) Awards are revealed.
Day by day, we’ll also share the results here, including some additional details about the honored products.
Category: SAFETY
ASPEN SURGICAL BARD-PARKER BLADE REMOVER
The Bard-Parker Blade Remover allows surgical team members to safely remove up to five contaminated blades from scalpels without the need to touch a blade, thereby protecting caregivers from sharps injuries. The Blade Remover’s clear lid enables easy counting of used blades, and its adhesive backing secures to any surface, including drapes. In addition, locking tabs prevent blades from being removed from the device, helping to enhance safety.
Surgical Products connected with Aspen Surgical to learn more.
Why do you think readers are interested in learning more about the product?
Because the Bard-Parker Blade Remover allows surgeons to still use a traditional scalpel, without changing their practice. However, it helps give the staff member who is removing the contaminated blade a safe and easy way to do so. There are some sharps safety products that have not been widely adopted in the OR because they require the surgeon change their practice, so this product is a nice win-win in that regard.
(Image credit: Aspen Surgical)
What technical innovations does the product encapsulate and apply to the OR?
Compared to the traditional method of removing a scalpel blade from the handle with a needle clamps or forceps, the Blade Remover is designed to be quick and easy to use, while also keeping fingers away from the potentially contaminated blade. Although not highly technical in nature, this product allows for a no-touch way to remove a contaminated blade from a scalpel handle, taking a nod from the hands-free safety trend in the OR.
How does the product contribute to better outcomes?
Because there has been some resistance to adopting safety scalpels in the operating room, the Bard-Parker team has been focused on other products that can help protect staff in a facility where conventional scalpels are being used. We know that 12 percent of sharps injuries in the OR are occurring when staff is either loading or removing blades from the scalpel handle. Often when removing a blade from the scalpel handle, the blade has been used on a patient, which may put staff at risk of exposure to bloodborne pathogens such as HIV and Hepatitis C. With this in mind, we developed the Bard-Parker Blade Remover to allow the OR staff to easily and safely remove a contaminated blade from a scalpel handle without having to touch the blade.
Anything else you’d like to add?
This product helps to protect healthcare staff safety. Healthcare staff safety is very intertwined with patient safety because if staff is safe, they can remain focused on the patient and task at hand.
