Medical Safety Technologies Introduces Revolutionary Safety Syringe

Main Category: Medical Devices
Also Included In: Public Health
Article Date: 07 Jan 2008 - 2:00 PDT

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Medical Safety Technologies, Inc. (MST), a designer and supplier of medical devices solving healthcare safety issues related to needle stick injuries, brings its new Turtle Safety Syringe to the global medical market. The Turtle Safety Syringe is the only passive, self-sheathing safety syringe, which never exposes the needle to the healthcare professional during the entire injection process - offering the user 100 percent protection from deadly needle stick injuries and accidents.

Unlike other products currently available, the Turtle is the only one that offers a complete solution, through its patented completely automatic and passive safety syringe design, which shields the needle at all times from the healthcare worker. It utilizes a proprietary design to ensure that the needle is never exposed from the moment the syringe is taken from its original packaging, through the injection process, and finally to sanitary disposal.

"I have served as a registered nurse in hospitals for 18 years and I myself have suffered three contaminated needle stick injuries, two of which were accidentally inflicted by colleagues," said inventor Robin Martin RN, MST founder, president and CEO. "I know first hand how easy it is for nurses and doctors to become victims of needle stick injuries from contaminated needles. A quick moment with an exposed needle under the right circumstances is all it takes - to lose your life. I really feel that this design was inspired by God to alleviate the suffering associated with needle-stick injuries to healthcare workers around the world that dedicate their lives to helping others."

In spite of present safety syringes, all current models of which expose the needle, needle-stick injuries continue to frequently occur, and also frequently transfer serious or fatal infections of HIV, Hepatitis B, and Hepatitis C. The World Health Organization reports that each year an estimated eight to 12 billion injections are given with more than 50 percent being unsafe. As a result of needle-stick injury, more than eight million new Hepatitis B, more than two million new Hepatitis C, and 100,000+ new HIV infections are transmitted each year. These numbers may actually be much higher, as many needle stick injuries go unreported.

"A nurse's life is literally at risk every day when using current exposed needle syringe technology," said Martin. "According to the American Hospital Association, one case of a contaminated needle stick involving the transmission of a blood-born disease can soon cost a hospital over one million dollars in expenditures for testing, lost worker time, disability payments and potential court and settlement costs. For less than one dollar, the Turtle can eliminate these costs altogether and save many lives around the world."

Martin also has a patent pending for a new syringe model with additional features, including a feature to permanently disable the syringe after one injection. It is planned for introduction in the near future.

"This is an especially important feature, as we look at the global market and addressing issues in Africa and other underdeveloped nations, where safe needle disposal is not consistently practiced, and used syringes are re-used up to four times. This dangerous re-use practice is sky rocketing transmission of disease in these nations," said Martin.

The MST Turtle Safety Syringe is currently available to hospitals and health care practices worldwide.

Medical Safety Technologies