Every day, all over the world, doctors, nurses and other users accidentally suffer needle stick injuries or get the patient’s blood on them while inserting a catheter. In many cases, this results in healthcare staff and patients dying from infections relating to their hospital stay. Suffering an unintentional needle stick injury after inserting
a catheter from an infected patient is a traumatic experience for a healthcare professional. Becton Dickinson wanted to contribute to increased safety for hospital staff and patients by creating a tool to minimise blood contact. Finding an effective product was both urgent and extremely important.
Venflon Pro Safety
Users, who consisted of both nurses and doctors, usually have extensive experience of this kind of product, where access is created to the blood stream. It was important to design and develop a new, intravenous catheter that gave them the same tactile feel and feedback as the previous product did. This also applied to the elements of their procedure and the handling of everything from how to hold the device until the insertion and separation of the needles. It had to be smooth, simple and safe.
We had the pleasure of helping with the design and development of an intravenous catheter with needle stick protection that stops at the tip of the needles after separation from the catheter head in order to prevent secondary stick injuries and minimise blood splashes. The design of the grip section allows for several gripping positions in order to satisfy the habits of all the various users. The outcome was the award-winning Venflon Pro Safety.
Avalon Innovation also contributed to patents being granted for the product, and there are currently ten patents for it. The product has enabled Becton Dickinson to significantly increase its production volume, and they are the market leader with 95% in Scandinavia and 60% globally.
“The product that we’ve developed, with the aid of the competence that Avalon Innovation possesses, has meant that we, as a global medical technology company, have significantly increased our market share in this segment. This has also contributed to an incredibly important factor, which is reduced sick leave and risk of infection among patients and healthcare staff. We’re very pleased to be able to contribute to safer working conditions for patients and an important occupational group in society.”
Kristoffer Glowacki
Manager R&D, Becton Dickison
Awards
Venflon was a successful project for Becton Dickison, gaining awards including the Red Dot “Best of the Best” Design Award
Competences
Curious about how we work with the competences that were involved in the project? Feel free to find out more!
– Design
