CATEGORY: SAFETY
Winner: Aspen Surgical Bard-Parker Plus Blade with Loader
Product description and innovation synopsis:
Aspen Surgical’s Bard-Parker Plus Blade with Loader is the first of its kind. The new Blade with Loader contains a convenient puncture-resistant loading cartridge, allowing the user to quickly and safely put a surgical blade onto their existing conventional surgical handle without ever needing to touch a sharp blade with their fingers, or load a blade using forceps. And the best part? The surgeon can use the same conventional Bard-Parker blade they have trusted for many years, while also helping to protect staff.
What sets this product apart from others available in the industry?
Compared to the traditional method of placing a scalpel blade onto a handle with a needle clamps or forceps, the Blade with Loader has a patented design that is quick and easy to use, while helping to avoid direct hand contact with the blade during the loading process. The new Bard Parker Blade with Loader also allows blades on the back table or mayo stand to remain protected until they are ready for use, helping to prevent a hand injury when a hand is passed along that table or stand.
How does this product benefit the surgical team and aid in 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 scalpel injuries in the OR occur when staff is either loading or removing blades from the handle. We also know from EPINET data that the incidence of sharps injuries in the Operating Room are the highest of any other setting and have continued to climb from 2015 to 2016, making up 47 percent of sharps injuries. With this in mind, we have developed a product that makes loading the blade safer and easier for staff by helping to protect their hands, but does not change the surgeon’s practice of using the blade. We hope for greater adoption of safety in the Operating Room with the new Bard Park Blade Plus Loader.
Runner-Up: Ansell GAMMEX PI Glove-In-Glove System
Product description and innovation synopsis:
The patent pending GAMMEX PI Glove-in-Glove System is the world’s first pre-donned double gloving system. Featuring Ansell’s exclusive GLOVE-IN-GLOVE Technology, the system offers pre-donned outer and inner gloves packed in one poly-pouch and one inner-wrap — making double gloving easier and faster. The semi-transparent GAMMEX PI Hybrid serves as the outer glove, delivering both the comfort of polyisoprene and the strength of neoprene. Combined with the green-colored GAMMEX Non-Latex PI Underglove as the inner glove, this system allows for quick and easy glove breach detection. In addition, the GAMMEX PI Glove-in-Glove System uses 50 percent less inner packaging materials, reducing environmental impact.
What sets this product apart from others available in the industry?
The GAMMEX PI Glove-In-Glove System is the world’s first pre-donned double gloving system with both the outer and inner non-latex surgical gloves ready for double gloving in just one don. Both the outer and inner gloves are packed in a single poly-pouch and inner-wrapper to give you more time when it matters. Also, by combining the glove-in-glove pairs in one poly-pouch and one inner-wrap, there is 50 percent less waste with inner packaging so you further increase your contribution to the environment. Last, the gloves are aligned at the fingertips to minimize the need for adjustments upon donning coupled with a superior fit and feel.
How does this product benefit the surgical team and aid in better outcomes?
Major health organizations agree that double gloving is vital for safety, reducing the risk of inner glove perforations by 71 percent compared to single gloving. With our glove-in-glove system, we’ve made double gloving as convenient as it is critical. Our natural-colored, semi-transparent outer glove over a green under glove enables easy breach detection. Plus, the outer glove comes off easily and the smooth upper surface of the inner glove makes it easy to accommodate any intraoperative changes. Last, the system is non-latex, DPG-Free, and CPC-Free to eliminate the risk of Type I latex allergy and minimize Type IV chemical allergies and sensitivities.
