The Need

Healthcare professionals desire a way to tell if an IV port has been accessed while also having the port sterile and accessible when needed. IV ports are increasingly used for chronic pain conditions, but self-access, specifically in patients dealing with drug abuse, can lead to a host of problems like infections, granuloma, accidental overdose, air embolus, or other problems related to contaminated narcotics.

The Technology

Researchers at The Ohio State University have created a seal that is placed on IV tubing access ports that would be tamper-evident as to monitor self-access, and be a deterrant for self-access yet easily removable in case of emergency. The design would be compatable with a variety of access port types and manufactures.

Commercial Applications

• Medical Devices
• Healthcare
• Hospitals

Benefits/Advantages

• Nursing staff can identify if IV had been accessed
• Assist the nurse in more quickly evaluating if a change in mental status of a patient might be related to their medical condition or self-administration of IV drugs
• Document self-accessing of IV ports if the patient develops a blood stream infection during hospitalization to provide exemption from reporting this infection as a hospital quality measure
• Discouraging access decreases the incidence of infection
• Patients that require long-term IV access can be transferred to lower acuity facilities since access to the ports could be monitored