SAFIRA(R) Added to Vizient GPO Alongside Konica Minolta’s SONIMAGE HS2 Ultrasound System in the USA

CAMBRIDGE, UK / ACCESSWIRE / October 4, 2022 / Medovate announced today that the game-changing regional anesthesia technology SAFIRA®(SAFer Injection for Regional Anesthesia) has been added to the Vizient Group Purchasing Organization (GPO) contract alongside the Konica Minolta SONIMAGE® HS2 Ultrasound System.

Medovate and Konica Minolta Healthcare established a partnership in January 2021 to promote best practices in regional anesthesia. The SAFIRA® technology was added to Konica Minolta's UGPro® Solution, which brings together education, procedures and imaging equipment, such as the SONIMAGE HS2, to further expand the use of regional anesthesia and enhance patient safety.

This latest development means that healthcare providers in the USA can now access the SONIMAGE HS2 alongside the additional patient safety benefits provided by the SAFIRA® system.

Eric Sumner Executive VP, Sales for the Americas from Konica Minolta Healthcare, said:"The SAFIRA® system is an innovative solution providing additional patient safety benefits during the delivery of regional anesthesia and complements our SONIMAGE HS2 Ultrasound System."

Konica Minolta has established ultrasound contracts for its next-generation point-of-care portable ultrasound system SONIMAGE HS2 with USA healthcare company Vizient - the largest GPO in the US, serving over 5,000 not-for-profit health system members.

The current regional anesthesia procedure is typically for an assistant to inject the anesthetic solution at the required pressure while the clinician uses ultrasound guidance to place the needle. SAFIRA®is a novel technology, developed alongside specialist clinicians in the National Health Service in the UK, designed to increase patient safety during ultrasound-guided regional anesthesia.

The SAFIRA® system automatically limits injection pressure to a specified threshold to help reduce the risk of nerve injury and improve patient safety. In addition, SAFIRA® also transforms regional anesthesia into a one-person procedure by enabling a single clinician, an anesthesiologist or CRNA, to conduct the entire nerve block process.

Making regional anesthesia a single-operator procedure further supports the effective application of resources by enabling the clinician to take full control of the injection process, removing the need for a second operator and freeing up nursing staff for other critical tasks.

The SONIMAGE HS2 features Simple Needle Visualization (SNV®), an advanced algorithm that improves needle visibility and increases accuracy in needle placement, both for in-plane and out-of-plane approaches. SNV also adjusts the sensitivity of needle visualisation depending on the type of tissue.

Stuart Thomson, MD of Medovate said: "We are delighted that through our co-promotional relationship with Konica Minolta, our ground-breaking SAFIRA® system is now available alongside the SONIMAGE HS2 through Vizient, the largest GPO in the US. This is a great opportunity for clinicians in the United States to be able to realise the benefits of using these technologies in combination as best practice to improve patient safety during peripheral nerve blocks."

Both companies are committed to promoting safer regional anesthesia with solutions that deliver clinical efficiency, simplify use and advance better outcomes for patients.

CONTACT:

For more information please contact: Julia Price, julia.price@medovate.co.uk, 07737864878.

Note to Editors:

About Medovate www.medovate.co.uk

Medovate is a medical device company dedicated to the development and commercialisation of innovative medical technologies created within the NHS and beyond. Medovate identifies and works with high potential medtech innovations, providing the specialist management and technical resources to guide medical technologies through development, clinical trials, regulatory approval, into manufacture and on through to successful market launch. Medovate accelerates medical device innovations to market in order to benefit patient care and healthcare delivery. The company has a strong portfolio relating to specialisms in anesthesia, airway management, critical care and surgery. Medovate provides commercial returns to the NHS organisations and inventors that created the technologies helping to support further NHS innovation.

About Konica Minolta Healthcare Americas, Inc.

Konica Minolta Healthcare is a world-class provider and market leader in medical diagnostic imaging and healthcare information technology. The company's focus is to contribute to life changing advances through the transformation of primary imaging, allowing the invisible to be seen. Primary imaging, the most commonly used medical imaging technologies, include X-ray, ultrasound and imaging management systems. By advancing these readily available technologies, we can bring greater diagnostic capabilities to the greatest number of people.

With nearly 150 years of endless innovation, imaging is in Konica Minolta's DNA. From roots as a camera and film manufacturer, the company has cultivated its own technologies and continues to evolve techniques for visualizing what is not visible. Innovation allows the company to be a strong strategic partner, understanding what value means to customers and how Konica Minolta's innovations can address specific needs and lead to better decisions, sooner.

Konica Minolta Healthcare Americas, Inc., headquartered in Wayne, NJ, is a division of Konica Minolta, Inc. For more information on Konica Minolta Healthcare Americas, Inc., follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook, or visit https://healthcare.konicaminolta.us.

SOURCE: Medovate