Medical Device Link.

medical design excellence awards

Honours in 2009

Now in its twelfth year, the Medical Design Excellence Awards (MDEA) competition recognises the achievements of medical device manufacturers, their suppliers and the many people behind the scenes who are responsible for developing unique products that can transform health care. The winning entries excel in the areas of product innovation, design and engineering achievement, end-user benefit and cost-effectiveness in manufacturing and health care delivery. A selection of them are described here; for details of all the winning products, go to: www.devicelink.com/expo/awards/home/

ThermoSuit body-cooling system. Manufactured by Life Recovery Systems (Waldwick, New Jersey, USA) and submitted by Ximedica LLC (Providence, Rhode Island, USA). ThermoSuit cools the core temperature of cardiac arrest, stroke or heart attack victims to 33 °C in 20 minutes or less. When cooled, vital organs operate more slowly and require less oxygen, reducing the chance of brain or heart damage. Supply and design credits: Ximedica LLC (Providence, Rhode Island, USA), Nexcore Technologies Inc. (Waldwick, New Jersey, USA) and Dielectrics Inc. (Chicopee, Massachusetts, USA).

Styla MicroLaser advanced dental laser system. Zap Lasers

Styla MicroLaser advanced dental laser system. Manufactured by Zap Lasers (Pleasant Hill, California, USA) and submitted by KRT Marketing (Lafayette, California, USA). The Styla is dentistry’s first microlaser, enabling dentists to perform soft tissue procedures with little or no patient anaesthetic, recession, bleeding or pain.

Medigenic infection control keyboard. Esterline Advanced Input Systems

Medigenic infection control keyboard. Manufactured and submitted by Esterline Advanced Input Systems (Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, USA). The Medigenic infection control keyboard addresses studies showing hospital keyboards to be a source of bacterial cross-contamination. It helps monitor its own cleaning status and allows for high- speed data entry and quick cleaning.

Rad-87 Pulse CO-oximeter Masimo

Rad-87 pulse CO-oximeter. Manufactured and submitted by Masimo (Irvine, California, USA). The Rad-87 is a pulse CO-oximeter with optional built-in 802.11a/b/g radio for bi-directional wireless communication with a remote monitoring and clinician notification system. It allows easy activation of features with a single touch.

iUni and IDuo knee resurfacing devices. ConforMIS Inc.

iUni and iDuo (unicompartmental and bicompartmental) knee resurfacing devices. Manufactured by ConforMIS Inc. (Burlington, Massachusetts, USA) and submitted by Racepoint Group (Waltham, Massachusetts, USA). The iUni and iDuo (unicompartmental and bicompartmental) are personalised knee resurfacing implants that provide an early intervention option for osteo-arthritis of the knee.

Merlin.net patient care network (PCN). Manufactured and submitted by St. Jude Medical Inc. CRMD (Sylmar, California, USA). Merlin.net PCN is an integrated system enabling telemetry transmissions from patients’ implanted medical devices from home.Supply and design credit to Insight Product Development (Chicago, Illinois, USA), IBM (Glendale, California, USA) and Plexus Services Corp. (Neenah, Wisconsin, USA).

Benchmark Ultra. Ventana Medical Systems Inc.

Benchmark Ultra immunohisto-chemistry and in situ hybridisation staining instrument. Manufactured and submitted by Ventana Medical Systems Inc. (Tucson, Arizona, USA). The Benchmark Ultra is an immuno-histochemistry and in situ hybridisation staining instrument with advanced features that improve usability, streamline laboratory work flow and result in faster reporting of patient test results. Supply and design credit to Flextronics Inc. (Jesús Maria, Aguascalientes, Mexico), SMC Corp. of America (Tempe, Arizona, USA), Baymar Solutions (Lutz, Forida, USA) and Intuition Design Inc. (Chesapeake City, Maryland, USA).

Spectra MRSA chromogenic plated medium. Manufactured and submitted by Thermo Fisher Scientific (Lenexa, Kansas, USA). Spectra MRSA is a chromogenic plated medium intended for the primary isolation of MRSA from nasal swabs with conclusive results in 24 hours. It provides a reliable, economical solution to control and reduce the spread of MRSA.

True2go portable glucose monitor. Manufactured and submitted by Home Diagnostics Inc. (Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA). True2go is the world’s smallest glucose meter. Suitable for on-the-go use, the reusable meter attaches to the strip vial, gives results in 4 seconds from a 0.5-μL sample and self-calibrates using coding technology embedded on each test strip. Supply and design credit to Integrated Engineering Technologies (Tacoma, Washington, USA), Texas Instruments Inc. (Maitland, Florida, USA), and CSP Technologies (Amsterdam, New York, USA).

Aquilion One dynamic volume computed tomography system. Manufactured and submitted by Toshiba America Medical Systems Inc. (Tustin, California, USA). The Aquilion One dynamic volume computed tomography system reduces diagnosis time from hours or days to minutes. It can image up to 16 cm in a single rotation and show dynamic movement. Its comprehensive examination reduces the need for other tests.

Lyric hearing aid. Manufactured and submitted by InSound Medical Inc. (Newark, California, USA). The Lyric hearing aid is an invisible, extended-wear hearing device. Its unique design and deep canal placement provides natural sound quality for up to 120 days at a time. Supply and design credit to the Center for Medical Device Innovations Inc. (Dublin, California, USA).

ClearCut Oval Burrs, ClearCut Round Burrs, and ClearCut SLAP Burrs. Manufactured and submitted by Arthrex Inc. (Naples, Florida, USA). ClearCut Burrs are a line of single-use, rotary instruments that provide flush cutting and dual-suction pathways for precise resection of target bone while maintaining visibility during arthro-scopic shoulder and knee surgery. Supply and design credit to B&M Precision (Ruskin, Florida, USA), Somerset Plastics (Middletown, Connecticut, USA) and Sabic Innovative Plastics (Pittsfield, Massachusetts, USA).

Pulsar generator and PlasmaBlade disposable surgical cutting and coagulation devices. Manufactured by Peak Surgical Inc. (Palo Alto, California, USA) and submitted by California MedTech LLC (San Diego, California, USA). The surgery system includes the Pulsar generator, which generates pulsed plasma energy, and the Plasma-Blade family of disposable cutting tools. It is designed to provide the control of a scalpel and the bleeding control of traditional electrosurgery. Supply and design credit to California MedTech LLC (San Diego, California, USA).

UniDose glucose meter check control. Manufactured and submitted by Bionostics (Devens, Massachusetts, USA). Glucose meter check control in UniDose provides a simple-to-use, reliable and robust container to provide and present a single drop of quality control solution to verify the performance of a blood glucose test system.

Accu-Right CT marker device. Manufactured and submitted by Accu-Right Correct Side Solutions LLC (Los Angeles, California, USA). The Accu-Right CT marker device is a safety innovation that labels the right side in computed tomography images with a capital letter R to distinguish it from the left side. This recyclable CT accessory may reduce wrong-side surgery. Supply and design credit to ProAction Products (Van Nuys, California, USA), HLB (Chicago, Illinois, USA), VIP Rubber and Plastic Products Inc. (La Habra, California, USA).

Lifepak 15 monitor-defibrillator.Manufactured and submitted by Physio-Control Inc. (Redmond, Washington, USA). The Lifepak 15 monitor-defibrillator is used in medical emergencies to provide defibrillation and a range of monitoring functions, so that emergency medical services and hospital personnel can provide timely and appropriate patient care.

LiquiBand Optima wound-closure adhesive. Manufactured and submitted by Medlogic Global Ltd (Plympton, Plymouth, UK). LiquiBand Optima is an advanced cyanoacrylate skin adhesive and applicator. Its no-sting, fast-set formulation is optimized for safe, quick and easy use and application to close minor wounds in the emergency room.

Vitros 5600 Integrated system.Manufactured and submitted by Ortho Clinical Diagnostics (Rochester, New York, USA). The Vitros 5600 Integrated system is a high-capacity clinical laboratory system designed to integrate clinical chemistry and immunoassay testing into a single instrument. Supply and design credit to Priority Designs (Columbus, Ohio, USA).

Bactec FX microbial detection system. Manufactured by Becton, Dickinson and Co. (Sparks, Maryland, USA) and submitted by Bresslergroup Inc. (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA). The Bactec FX is a microbial detection system used for growing and detecting microorganisms in clinical specimens. Its design offers an efficient workflow and high-capacity output with a small footprint. Supply and design credit to Bresslergroup Inc. (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA), Crescent Industries Inc. (New Freedom, Pennsylvania, USA), and CW Thomas Inc. (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA).

eSensor XT-8 system for warfarin sensitivity testing. Manufactured and submitted by Osmetech Molecular Diagnostics (Pasadena, California, USA). The eSensor XT-8 system for warfarin sensitivity testing detects multiple genetic variations that identifies patients at risk for warfarin sensitivity and thus allows estimation of the optimal and safe warfarin dose. Supply and design credit to Aubrey Group Inc. (Irvine, California, USA) and Aline Inc. (Redondo Beach, California, USA).

The competition

The MDEA competition is sponsored by Medical Device & Diagnostic Industry magazine and organised by Canon Communications LLC. The competition is open to companies and individuals worldwide involved in the design, engineering, manufacture or distribution of finished medical devices or medical packaging. Those interested in entering the 2010 MDEA competition should visit the website or e-mail: mdea@cancom.com