• E-mail
• Print
• RSS

Technology company improves patient safety

Patient Safety Monitor Alert, December 10, 2004

Want to receive articles like this one in your inbox? Subscribe to Patient Safety Monitor Alert!

Last year BD, a medical technology company based in Franklin, NJ, received positive press when it introduced an innovative push-button safety needle, which retracts from a patient's skin after blood is drawn. Since then, many hospitals are using these and have seen a significant decrease in needle sticks.

This week, BD was back in the news with another announcement-the launch of its first automated microbiology system. It helps labs identify about 300 different organisms linked to bacterial infections within five to 48 hours. It enables healthcare facilities to treat patients more quickly.

The system works as follows:

1. Blood or urine samples are cultured, grown in a laboratory.

2. Cultures are tested in equipment such as BD's Bactec to confirm bacteria, rather than a virus or fungus.

3. Bacteria, in a liquid suspension, goes into a glass panel with tiny wells and placed in the system.

4. The system software identifies the bacteria within five to 48 hours along with which antibiotic works best.

To learn more about the BD Phoenix Automated Microbiology System, visit the BD Web site: www.bd.com.

Want to receive articles like this one in your inbox? Subscribe to Patient Safety Monitor Alert!

• E-mail to a Colleague
• Print
• RSS
• Archive