2021 HEALTHCARE PRODUCT HALL OF FAME
wasn’t designed to be a permanent replace- ment for a faulty organic one (even though the concept is touted regularly in science fiction). nstead, it serves as a temporary implantable prosthesis to serve as a bridge until a donor organ could be located and implanted.
Thermometer
KEY SUPPLIERS: Angelus, Aoss Medical Supply, BV Medical, Dealmed, DWK Life Sciences, LCR Hallcrest, Mediaid, Medical Indicators, Pyromation, SP Bel-Art, Thermco, ThermoWorks, VWR International, Waitz
WHY IT MATTERS: You can trace the concept of a thermometer back some 500 years when inventors – including Gali- leo – developed what became known as “thermoscopes” that used glass tubes of trapped air submerged in water. he way it worked went like this f the tube was placed in hot water, the trapped air would expand and cause the water level to rise; if the tube was placed in cold water, the trapped air would contract and show the water level as falling. y the early s, an talian inventor added a numerical scale to the thermoscope and voila he first thermometer was born. rom there, inven- tors eperimented with alternatives, such as switching to alcohol-filled glass tubes. n the early s, however, a erman physicist named aniel ahrenheit would use liquid mercury within the glass tubing and a standardized scale that became the standard bearer of a universal technology relied on for centuries until the advent of contact and no-contact external thermom- eters ( ll-Stars).
MRI scanner
KEY SUPPLIERS: Alltech Medical Systems, Aurora MRI, Canon, Esaote, GE Healthcare, Hitachi, Laifu, Medonica, MinFound, Philips Healthcare, Siemens Healthineers, Shi- madzu, SternMed, Synaptive, Time Medical Systems, WDM, XBO, XGY.
WHY IT MATTERS: ast year, HPN inducted the proverbial hree Musketeers (thos, Porthos and ramis) of iagnostic maging -ray, ultrasound and com- puted tomography. his year, ust like in the fictional tale, the dashing, younger rtagnan oined the trio. Magnetic resonance (MR) can trace its imaging roots to the early s as an outgrowth of nuclear magnetic resonance studies dating back to the s, according to Wesley ilson, Ph.., Senior irector, usiness evelopment, MR, Siemens
ealthineers. ealthcare started seeing commercial MR units emerge in the s. MR represents the youngest of the lead- ing four diagnostic imaging modalities that include ultrasound, -ray and C with positron emission tomography (PE) added to the group since the s. ll of these work together and build on one another, effectively defining the field of radiology, ilson told HPN. Where MR makes a difference involves
its interior reach and speed, and connection to surgery.
“All of us recognize certain clinical indications where MR is the preferred imaging modality, ilson noted. m thinking of all musculoskeletal issues and traumas, including brain inury (e.g., CE in football). MR also is helpful in diagnos- ing brain disorders, neurodegenerative diseases like ALS and dementia and is effective in detecting lesions for MS and other chronic diseases. MR represents a tool to prevent the need to go inside a body and to help plan and guide necessary surgi- cal intervention. echnological development has facili-
tated visual acuity and efficient data trans- mission, according to ilson. he progression of computeriation and
super-conducting magnets has enabled more clarity in the images taken and the digitiation of those images for reading, diagnosis, storage and transmission, he noted. he image quality produced now has come a long way from the early analog days of the modality. he other develop- ment involves the speed of acquiring data for the images. n the past it took hours to acquire and process the images. Routine imaging eams are now being completed in - to -minute scan slots, ilson noted. nnovative acceleration techniques and faster computing power have reduced individual image set acquisi- tions down to only a few minutes or less.
Bar coding in healthcare
KEY SUPPLIERS: Datalogic, GS1 US Healthcare, IOS, Jump Technologies, Toshiba, Zebra
WHY IT MATTERS: ack in the early
s, the grocery industry sought for a way to increase speed at checkout lanes but also drive efficiency in tracking inventory and sales. So in , the maor grocery retailers agreed to adopt and implement the Universal Product Code (UPC), a bar code symbol that included transactional data within a series of printed vertical stripes on a label that could be scanned and sent to a computer for tracking and
record keeping. he concept of bar cod- ing wouldn’t emerge in healthcare for another two years when an enterprising hospital supply chain executive in North Dakota developed a system internally to accomplish something similar. rom onward, bar coding established a beach- head in healthcare, albeit slow growing, under the intention of efficiency and safety at the point of care. he foundation of care delivery is patient safety, said Rikki ennings, Chief ursing nformatics Officer (CO) at ebra echnologies. he development of automated data capture has transformed clinic practice at the point of care. ar-code scanning has become the underpinning of efficiency for patient identification work- ows such as medication administration and specimen collection. Scanning tech- nologies ensure consistency and validation that the correct patient receives the desig- nated treatment at the right time, reducing error and vastly improving patient safety. essica ernardo, Senior Product Market-
ing Manager, arcode and abel Print Solu- tions, oshiba merica usiness Solutions, offers even higher praise. hermal bar-code printers are the unsung heroes of smooth logistics and healthcare practice ecellence, ernardo said.o doubt, patients attribute success- ful medical outcomes to clinicians, facilities and thorough aftercare. Working behind the scenes for each of these are essential technology components that are often invisible but extremely critical in determin- ing successful outcomes. his is true for thermal barcode print-
ers, she continued. hese systems allow clinicians to track medical supplies and medications, ensuring administrative accuracy of medicines while securing and maintaining the privacy of patient data in an effective, efficient and afford- able manner. hermal bar-code printing is an integral and dependable element of healthcare delivery with oftentimes nary a thought to its eistence. Printers perform in small spaces with minimal maintenance and low cost. evices can easily accom- modate various size labels or even patient wristbands and require little knowledge to print multiple labels at one time. rom patient admissions to the pharmacy and more, thermal bar-code printers are the workhorses behind successful patient care. ngela ernande, ice President Com- munity Engagement, S US, recalls the bar codes early s roots to support price lookup at point of sale in retail to epedite the checkout process, but adds that it has grown beyond that original mission.
hpnonline.com • HEALTHCARE PURCHASING NEWS • December 2021 35
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