Intravenous Cannulation

Abstract

This paper outlines the proposal of a new product to be designed for bloodless intravenous cannulation. Triangle Solutions has been a leader in medical devices for years. Healthcare workers need a device that eliminates accidental exposure from blood spillage. Current intravenous catheters don't provide this protection. The market for a device of this type will grow as the U.S. population ages. We need to develop a simple but effective product using our current facilities to produce a new bloodless intravenous catheter.

Blood spillage is a major problem when intravenous lines are started by healthcare workers. Spilled blood often contacts the patients clothing, bedding and the healthcare worker starting the line. Many times the spillage will come in contact with medical devices and the floor of the hospital room. This spilled blood increases the risks of infection from blood borne pathogens to patients, health care workers and janitorial providers that are responsible to clean up the mess. It is time that Triangle Solutions developed a simple and effective bloodless intravenous catheter system.

The health care industry has continued to grow every year. Even during the 2007-2009 recession the industry gained 428,000 new jobs in the U.S. (Catherine A. Wood, 2011) The aging baby boomer population of the United States is expected to make this trend continue over the next decade (Catherine A. Wood, 2011). The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates the industry will increase jobs by 3.2 million by 2018 (U.S. Healthcare). Approximately 1.75 trillion dollars in revenues were collected by the healthcare industry in 2010 (U.S. Healthcare). Here at Triangle Solutions it is imperative that we continue to design new and innovative medical products for this growing industry.

In the United States healthcare providers use over 500 million intravenous catheters each year. Annually one billion intravenous catheters are used Worldwide (Vascular Access). Retail prices for intravenous catheters range from $2-$8.00 each depending on the model and brand. One of our competitors, BD Medical, makes a bloodless intravenous catheter called the Nexiva. They retail for $7 to $8 dollars each (BD Nexivia). They work well to stop blood spillage but health care providers dislike using them. The reason for this dislike is the product is very different from the standard catheters most hospitals use. Hospital administration and purchasing departments dislike the higher prices of the BD catheters. Our bloodless intravenous catheter will look and feel just like the products that healthcare providers use every day. They will need to retail for around $3 dollars each to capture market share from BD medical. Our product will be made to feel and work like the existing standard intravenous catheters used every day. This will help us capture a bigger percentage of the catheter market.

The development team should consist of two healthcare workers that regularly start intravenous lines. These members will have insights on how lines are started and how the product should feel. After the product is made they will test it for ease of use and functionality. Two engineers should be on the team, one with biomedical training and one with mechanical training. The biomedical engineer will design the new product. The mechanical engineer will