25 Jan Andaltec participates in the development of an innovative syringe carrier for health emergencies
The Technological Centre for Plastics (Andaltec) has participated in the development of an innovative syringe carrier device, to be used by health workers in emergency and catastrophe situations. This tool has been devised by the nurse Ana Cintora. It consists in a container that allows for syringes already loaded with medication for immediate or gradual administration to be correctly aligned and ordered.
The syringe carrier is a device unique in the market due to its numerous advantages: it is easy to clean, sterilisable in a microwave and allows for medication to be accessible, without being carried, leaving the health worker’s hands free to perform other tasks. Moreover, it is ergonomic and helps to increase efficiency when injecting medicines. The nurse behind this project came to Andaltec with her initial idea and, since then, Andaltec has been involved in the whole development process, participating in the design, material choice and prototype manufacture, as well as carrying out the experimental tests on the syringe carrier’s prototype.
Andaltec’s technicians proposed some design improvements, such as placing the device as a belt on which the container could be attached with a clip, making it capable of rotation, and enabling the possibility of placing it in parallel or perpendicularly to the worker’s body, so that it can also become a useful working table. The device’s inventor has also been assessed as for the most suitable material choice, polypropylene in this case, as well as on the cost of moulding and serial part manufacturing. Thus, it will be possible to market a low-cost and high quality device.
Ana Cintora explains that she decided to launch this project when she realised there was nothing alike in the market. “Up to now, it was necessary to carry the medication which needs to be loaded and accessible in a tray or in our pockets, but carrying syringes in a pocket isn’t safe and the tray implies having at least one hand busy. Besides, the syringe carrier can be cleaned and sterilised after each patient, which makes it a very safe system”, as she states. The nurse from Madrid pinpoints the help provided by Andaltec to make this project come true, as the Technological Centre’s intervention has allowed to develop a much more perfected device. “Andaltec has guided me through the whole process and they have suggested very valuable improvement measures that have been very helpful to develop the product”, she asserts.
Once the device is completely developed and its successful industrial scale production has been ensured, Ana Cintora is establishing a start-up company, for which she is currently looking for investors to help market the product. Her goal is making the product available in Span during the first semester of 2021. Mari Ángeles Pancorbo, technician in Andaltec’s Projects Area, states that this project is proof of the way Andaltec can help entrepreneurs to turn their ideas into a viable product. “This is a very clear example that R& D investment is indeed very profitable, as we offer comprehensive support that allows to achieve a product ready to be marketed”, as she explains.
Andaltec counts with an extensive experience on products for medical applications, such as a device to avoid tearing during birth, developed together with a University of Jaén researcher. They have also created 3D models to prepare doctors for surgeries. Currently, the Technological Centre is executing the R&D project PoliM3D, intended to obtain active polymers designed for 3D printing in medical applications.