Design development firm Cambridge Consultants has partnered with medical device company HemoSonics to help develop the company’s new diagnostic instrument, known as the POC, or Point-of-Care analyzer. The POC analyzer will be used to test the four treatable systems that control blood clotting, and will provide critical data regarding blood clots and bleeding to be used in the treatment of patients in surgery, trauma and intensive care.
HemoSonics created the POC analyzer to help diagnose disruptions or imbalances in four areas: the platelets, coagulation factors, fibrinogen and fibrinolytic proteins.
The company hopes that the POC analyzer will prevent bleeding and blood clots, which can be life-threatening in that they can cause heart attacks, strokes, pulmonary embolisms and hemorrhages.
In fact, 30 percent of deaths in the developed world are linked to these conditions resulting from blood clots.
“Most people don’t realize that bleeding and blood clots are the main causes of death in the developed world,” said the president of HemoSonics, William Walker. “This diagnostic instrument is being designed to provide information rapidly to physicians to allow them to reduce complications for the patient, and, in turn, save lives and lower healthcare costs.”
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Cambridge Consultants has the expertise HemoSonics needs to develop the POC analyzer with their experience in the fields of diagnostic product development, electronics, industrial design, software engineering, and microfuidics.
“After a highly competitive search, we chose Cambridge Consultants due to its proven expertise and track record in the medical technology and surgical space,” said Walker. “We are excited to work collaboratively through the commercialization process to take this important product to the market.”
How important is it, though?
The device will first be used in open-heart surgeries, where approximately 25 percent of patients experience excessive bleeding and complications in the blood. The POC analyzer will ultimately take the guesswork out of situation, allowing doctors to make informed decisions rather than wait for lab tests or simply making an educated guess as to how to proceed with treatment.
David Chastain, program manager at Cambridge Consultants for its Medical Technology division, commented on the partnership, saying, “We are pleased to work with HemoSonics on this device that is being designed to deliver fast and accurate information that is critical in surgery – when the longer a patient is under anesthesia, the greater the risk. This project is particularly exciting as it will use so many areas of our expertise and we believe, once it is fully commercialized, it could become the standard blood coagulation diagnostic tool for hospitals around the world.”
Edited by
Allison Boccamazzo
