A member of the Reviews in Obstetrics & Gynecology editorial board reviewed the following devices. The views of the author are personal opinions and do not necessarily represent the views of Reviews in Obstetrics & Gynecology or MedReviews?, LLC. Companies can submit a product for review for by e-mailing Merilee Croft at moc.sweiverdem@tforcm. Design/Functionality Scale 1 = Poor design; many deficits 2 = Solid design; many deficits 3 = Good design; few flaws 4 = Excellent design; few flaws 5 = Excellent design; flaws not apparent Innovation Scale 1 = Nothing new 2 = Small twist on standard technology 3 = Major twist on standard technology 4 = Significant new technology 5 = Game changer Value Scale 1 = Added cost with limited benefit 2 = Added cost with some benefit 3 = Added cost but significant benefit 4 = Marginal added cost but significant benefit 5 = Significant cost savings Overall Scale 1 = Don��t bother 2 = Niche product 3 = Worth a try 4 = Must try 5 = Must have Design/Functionality: 2.
5 Innovation: 2 Value: 2.5 Overall Score: 2.5 Background Needlestick injuries that expose workers to bloodborne pathogens continue to be an important public health concern. To address this specific issue, the Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act of 2000 and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration��s Bloodborne Pathogens Standard require that employers use engineering and work practice controls to eliminate occupational exposure or reduce it to the lowest feasible extent [29 CFR ��1910.1030(d)(2)(i)].
1 On Labor and Delivery units, one niche area of potential needlestick injuries involves the process of collecting blood from umbilical cords after newborn deliveries. In an effort to eliminate this risk entirely, the Umbilicup (MKMI Medical Innovations, Inc., Encino, CA) was invented to ��extract umbilical cord blood samples �� without an exposed needle.�� Design/Functionality The Umbilicup is pretty straightforward. It is a funnel-like device surrounded by a cylindrical, clear plastic casing that measures 6.5 cm in diameter and 10 cm in height. The tip of the funnel attaches to a 20-gauge, silicon-shielded, 1.2-cm beveled needle to which a standard vacuum blood specimen tube can be attached. To collect a specimen, cord blood is simply allowed to flow into the top of the funnel, where it pools.
After the blood is collected, an evacuated specimen tube is inserted into the sheath-protected needle cylinder at the bottom of the device and then sent to Drug_discovery the laboratory for testing. In use by the reviewer, the Umbilicup was intuitive to use and performed flawlessly. Umbilical cord blood went into the device and came out at the bottom in a vacutaner tube. No mess, no needle exposures. The only problem arose when it came time to dispose of the Umbilicup. As a ��sharp�� device, the Umbilicup does need to be disposed of safely and the 6.5-cm diameter device did not fit into our standard needle boxes. Oops. Design/Functionality Score: 2.