A Cut Above: Ultrasonic Catheter-Cutting System Receives Technology Award
October 25, 2009 – 11:33 pm
Rainbow Medical’s ultrasonic catheter cutting system incorporates a vacuum to collect waste material.
As anyone who followed the 2000 presidential election in the United States can tell you, hanging chads can cause a world of hurt. They can also have serious consequences for a patient if they dangle from a urinary tract catheter. When catheter tubing is cut during production, the waste material, or chad, may not completely detach, or it may detach but remain lodged within the catheter. If not detected during manufacture, the chad can subsequently migrate into the patient. An ultrasonic catheter cutting system from Rainbow Medical Engineering Ltd (Letchworth Garden City, UK) that produces burr-free tubing edges incorporates a safeguard to prevent chads from hitching a ride with the finished product. The system was honoured this month for Best Technology Application at the 2009 Plastics Industry Awards in London.
The efficacy and safety of urinary tract catheters in patient treatment can be compromised if the device damages the patient’s tissue or allows bacteria or foreign matter to enter. Data cited by Rainbow Medical shows that 44% of hospital patients with an indwelling urinary catheter develop bacterial infections within 72 hours of catheterisation.
The infection is sited in the damaged tissue or caused by bacterial encrustation. The damage or encrustation is caused by burrs on the edges of the catheter apertures, which result from the limitations of typical mechanical cutting instruments. Rainbow Medical’s ultrasonic cutting system produces measurably smoother, burr-free edges on the apertures than conventional systems, according to the company.
The cutting technology uses a vacuum to collect chads, which are passed through an electronic counter. If an anomaly is detected, processing is automatically halted. The production cycle cannot be restarted until the faulty catheter has been physically removed.
The technology has been adopted by several manufacturers in Europe and the Asia/Pacific, where it has exceeded all customer expectations for production and quality, according to the manufacturer.
The Best Technology Application was awarded to Rainbow Medical on 2 October during a ceremony at the Hilton Park Lane in London. The Plastics Industry Awards are organised by Plastics and Rubber Weekly.
Norbert Sparrow
Tags: catheters, Rainbow Medical, ultrasonic cutting
