With more than 400 million catheters placed in U.S. hospitals each year, vascular access and infusion nursing are increasingly important in healthcare. Nowhere is that more obvious than at the Infusion Nurses Society annual meeting, which Greg recently attended.
Hot news from INS? One star of the show was The WAND, the all-in-one safety introducer for vascular access, from Access Scientific. While the first iteration of The WAND will be used by interventional radiologists and cardiologists, the big buzz at INS was about the coming PICC WAND and Power WAND.
These new devices will bring the safe, faster Accelerated Seldinger Technique to placement of peripherally inserted central catheters (PICCs) and extended-dwell peripheral IVs. Virtually every nurse who saw the devices demonstrated at INS came away saying she wanted to be sure her facility got The WAND.
Another star of the show was the fast-growing Excelsior Medical. Excelsior is already the biggest maker of prefilled catheter flush syringes – a vital component in reducing deadly bloodstream infections. The company has just launched the SwabCap, an innovative luer access valve disinfection cap, which could become part of the new standard of care in catheter safety – especially when Excelsior combines the SwabCap with its flush syringes in one nifty device.
Also making an impression at INS for their expanding product lines were Medcomp and AngioDynamics, and PICC Excellence and Nancy Moureau for their expertise and leading educational programs.