An innovative haemostat spray powder which can’t cause an embolism

Challenge

Develop an airless haemostat spray system to eliminate the risk of embolism during surgery.

Approach

Drawing on our extensive experience developing surgical devices, our engineers and scientists created a number of prototypes based on initial concepts.

Outcome

Refined our design based on user feedback to produce a fully functional proof-of-principle device for delivering powdered haemostats accurately, safely and cheaply.

At a glance

Client
Internal

Services
MedTech
Surgical

Services
Industrial design
Engineering
Human factors

Project background

Haemostat powders are widely used to manage bleeding during surgery, however, such devices generally rely on air to deliver the powder particles, which brings the risk of embolism if the device is placed too close to a vein, and we wanted to come up with a solution that could eliminate this entirely.

More

Convesaid illustrates how we care about all aspects of development, from the clever new technology and engineering, to the user experience and industrialisation.

Iain Ansell, Head of Surgical, Team Consulting

Convesaid’s airflow design uses the Coandă principle (the tendency of an airflow to follow an adjacent curved surface) to ensure that only the haemostat powder exits the device, enabling surgical teams to work without worrying about potentially deadly embolism.

User-centred design

Following successful demonstration of our first prototype, we gathered user feedback to further refine the design. The original prototype was connected to an external pump and power source, but feedback suggested a handheld solution would better meet stakeholder needs.

Ergonomic trigger

We also discovered that people pulled the trigger before switching the device on, so we redesigned the device’s layout to feature a lock-out which prevents the trigger from activating until the device has been switched on.

As well as eliminating the risk of embolism, we also wanted to create a device that was easy to operate, reliable and low cost.

Iain Ansell, Head of Surgical, Team Consulting

Outcome

Convesaid is suitable for use in both laparoscopic and open surgery, and the powder is delivered as a fine, fully controllable jet. Surgical teams can focus on the procedure at hand and not worry about embolism.

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