Now available, India’s first safety IV cannule to end needle stick injuries

August 08, 2011 04:18 pm | Updated 04:18 pm IST - New Delhi

The new safety intravenous cannule eliminates the chances of needle stick injuries and blood borne infections among the healthcare providers during the needle withdrawal and disposal. File Photo

The new safety intravenous cannule eliminates the chances of needle stick injuries and blood borne infections among the healthcare providers during the needle withdrawal and disposal. File Photo

Forty-year-old M.K. Maan of Mecmaan Healthcare has come up with a safety intravenous cannule, a device that prevents needle stick injuries among healthcare workers.

It eliminates the chances of needle stick injuries and blood borne infections among the healthcare providers during the needle withdrawal and disposal.

The cannule consists of seven detachable segments including a safety chamber that makes it different from other intravenous cannules available in the market.

It is a hollow device attached to the back of the cannule, where the infected needle once withdrawn from the patient’s body gets automatically locked in thus preventing any kind of human touch.

Maan, a tool and die-making engineer said, “My design is completely safe. In markets you can find normal I.V Cannules, but those are not completely safe. In this device, the infected needle is completely covered in a safety chamber and you can then easily dispose it under the clinical protocols. Several factors like type and design of needle, recapping activity, handling or transferring specimens, clean up activity, manipulating needles in patients line related work and failure to dispose of the needle in puncture proof containers causes needle stick injuries.”

Sumeetha Muralidharan, a senior microbiologist at Delhi’s Safdarjang Hospital, said, “Needle stick injuries can cause different type of infections among which the most serious ones are Hepatitis A and C and HIV/AIDS.” It took Maan five years to design this safety-engineering device.

In 2009, he got it patented under his name in 40 countries, including India. Several reports suggest that safety-engineering devices can reduce needle stick injuries cases to 76 per cent.

These cannules are currently exported to Turkey and Poland. The cost of one safety IV Cannule in Indian market is between Rs. 60 and Rs. 65.

They are manufactured at Mecmaan Healthcare facility in Bahadurgarh, a suburb on the outskirts of Delhi.

Maan said, “We cannot go to the market and sell our product unless the doctors and other medical staffs are not satisfied with it, and are fully aware of the need for the safety devices. Once awareness increases my product will be popular.” He further added that there is a serious need to spread awareness on the needle stick injuries among the healthcare workers, to reduce the number of cases. Hospitals are taking stringent measures to prevent these injuries.

Safdarjang, one of the country’s premier hospitals, organizes seminars and training sessions that includes lectures on use of gloves, recapping of needles, standard precautions and waste management for the health care workers. Dr. Muralidharan further added that safety-engineering devices come second, but what comes first is the awareness on the subject. Once everyone is trained and aware, it will itself bring a large chunk of these problems down. It’s the knowledge, attitude and practice that can bring the change.

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