ICU Medical Launches Diana™ Automated Sterile Compounding System
for the Accurate, Safe, and Efficient Preparation of Hazardous
Drugs
SAN CLEMENTE, Calif.,
Nov. 29, 2012 /PRNewswire/
-- ICU Medical, Inc. (NASDAQ: ICUI) today announced the U.S.
launch of the Diana Hazardous Drug Compounding System at the
American Society of Health System Pharmacists (ASHP) Midyear
Meeting and Exposition in Las
Vegas December 2-6, 2012. The
Diana system is the world's first user-controlled automated sterile
compounding system for the accurate, safe, and efficient
preparation of hazardous drugs, and has been in clinical use in
Europe for more than a year.
(Logo:
http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120906/LA68795LOGO)
Unlike automated technologies that require huge investments and
do not fit within existing workflows, the Diana system
cost-effectively keeps pharmacists and technicians in control of
the compounding process from beginning to end. The system fits
under the hood of a pharmacy's existing biological safety cabinet
to protect clinicians from exposure to hazardous drugs and
accidental needlesticks, while protecting the patient preparation
from exposure to environmental contaminants.
The Diana system provides automated checks and reminders to
improve workflow efficiency and patient safety, and frees up
pharmacists and technicians from many of the repetitive motions
required during preparation and reconstitution, reducing the
stresses and injuries that can occur as a result. By helping
improve the efficiency of high-volume compounding, the Diana system
delivers workflow efficiencies while helping reduce drug waste.
Originally designed to keep clinicians safe from hazardous drug
exposure during chemotherapy preparation, the microbiologically and
mechanically closed Diana system also helps keep the drugs
themselves safe from exposure to outside
contaminants.1,2 Organizations such as the
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and
the United States Pharmacopeia (USP <797>) have recommended
the use of closed systems to help protect the healthcare worker
from exposure to hazardous agents and to protect the sterility and
integrity of drugs.3,4
"We have been using the Diana system for a year and a half to
work faster, safer, and more accurately with no risk of drug
contamination thanks to the closed system components that are a
part of the system," explained Birgit Tans, RPh, Chief Oncology
Pharmacist at University Hospital in Leuven, Belgium. "Since we were already using the ICU
Medical ChemoClaveTM system for manual compounding, it
has been very easy to integrate the Diana system into our existing
workflow to automate the process and maintain the same level of
sterility of the preparation."
The Diana system was inspired by Dr. Diana Kostyra Lopez, the
late wife of ICU Medical founder and CEO Dr. George "Doc" Lopez,
who lost a valiant fight with cancer in 2006. During chemotherapy,
Diana heard her nurses complain of a metallic taste in their mouths
and discuss potential health hazards from exposure to chemotherapy
drugs. She asked Doc to create a solution that would help keep
clinicians safe from exposure, and the result is the ICU Medical
line of needlefree oncology solutions, including the Diana
system.
"Diana always cared more about others than she cared about
herself," Doc explained. "When her oncology nurses told her about
the symptoms they were experiencing as a result of exposure to
chemotherapy drugs, she tugged at my sleeve, looked up at me and
said 'fix it.' I always did whatever she told me to do."
- ICU Medical Laboratory Study Summary: Spiros®:
Mechanically and Microbiologically Closed Male Luer
- ICU Medical Laboratory Study Summary: Genie®:
Mechanically and Microbiologically Vial Access Device
- NIOSH (US). Prevention of Occupational Exposure to
Antineoplastics and Other Hazardous Drugs in Healthcare Settings.
September 2004.
- United States Pharmacopeia (USP) 797. Pharmaceutical
Compounding, Sterile Preparations. 2007.
Note to Media: For photos and video of the Diana system, click
here. (http://www.icumed.com/diana)
Contact: Tom McCall
Vice President, Marketing
949-366-4368
tmccall@icumed.com
About ICU Medical, Inc.: ICU Medical, Inc. develops,
manufactures and sells innovative medical devices used in vascular
therapy, oncology and critical care applications. ICU Medical's
products improve patient outcomes by helping prevent bloodstream
infections and protecting healthcare workers from exposure to
infectious diseases or hazardous drugs. The company's complete
product line includes custom IV systems, closed delivery systems
for hazardous drugs, needlefree IV connectors, catheters and
cardiac monitoring systems. ICU Medical is headquartered in
San Clemente,
California. More information about ICU Medical, Inc. can be
found at www.icumed.com.
SOURCE ICU Medical, Inc.