Blood collection set gives healthcare and laboratory workers safer choice for sampling difficult veins and collecting blood cultures
One of the problems facing health and lab workers collecting blood samples for analysis is the risk of needlestick injury (NSI).
This is particularly acute when sampling from difficult veins and from elderly or infirm patients and when collecting blood for hemoculture.
BD has developed unique medical device technology to help protect health and lab workers from inadvertent NSI with the Safety-Lok blood collection set.
The secret, according to the company, is the safety-engineering of the product to include a patented safety shield that can be activated with just one hand.
The device is ideally suited to blood collection under difficult or critical situations, such as in accident and emergency units when users may need to keep a hand free for calming the patient.
The Safety-Lok system has a translucent safety shield integrated into the system that slides and locks over the used needle as it is withdrawn.
This is a vital safety feature given that many needlestick injuries occur when users have to cover the used needle with a separate sheath using their other hand.
The safety shield's translucency also allows clear visibility of blood flashback.
The shield locking mechanism is irreversible and is audibly confirmed with a 'click'.
"There is absolutely no room for complacency in tackling the increasing rate of needlestick injuries," says Ruth Baillie, BD's general manager. "Rigid adoption of safe working practices, such as wearing gloves and the immediate disposal of needles by the user, are essential.
"Improved education and training also have an indispensable role.
"However, independent studies show that safer working practices and training alone are not sufficient to combat the significant risks of needlestick injury.
"Health organisations should assess the minimal cost of safety needles compared with the annual costs caused by NSIs.
"Systems like Safety-Lok that automatically protect and neutralise used needles should be the centrepiece of any risk prevention programme, especially as surveys show that it is the procedures of re-sheathing and disposal that put most workers at risk, together with sharps left unsheathed and unattended".
The Safety-Lok blood collection set is one of a range of safety needle products newly developed by BD.
The range also includes the EclipseT Blood Collection Needle and Vacutainer System and the EclipseT Safety Needle and Syringe for Arterial Blood Collection.
BD is a medical technology company that serves healthcare institutions, life science researchers, clinical laboratories, industry and the general public.
BD manufactures and sells a broad range of medical supplies, devices, laboratory equipment and diagnostic products.
