Venous access ports are central venous access devices that allow healthcare practitioners easy access to the patient’s veins to give treatment and take blood. Typically, these ports are made of non-irritant material and can remain under the skin for weeks or months.

The Need

Accessing a patient’s port is a sterile procedure requiring several steps. As these steps are conducted by a human, there is room for user error, which can increase the possibility of contamination or infection. These sterilization issues can arise from errors performing or skipping the steps required to access the port, whether the practitioners’ aseptic technique or patient sterilization.

The Technology

The proposed technology is an implantable, imaging-compatible venous access port that leverages near-field communication (NFC) to automate the needle-sticking process while accessing the port. The NFC tag in the port allows for location detection by an NFC reader, while the main, needle-containing component (which replaces the current, disposable needle-cannula) is also disposable. This would locate the implanted port under the skin, allowing the device to indicate to the clinician of proper or improper placement; upon proper placement, the device can engage the needle and successfully access the port and prevent misses and the need to re-stick the patient.

Commercial Applications

Venous access ports are used for a range of medical conditions, including chronic liver disease, oncology therapies, taking blood, blood transfusion, and administration of nutrition, fluids, and medications.

Benefits /Advantages

• Reduces infection-related complications while accessing venous ports

• Leverages NFC for location or port

• Incorporates a needle-containing component to replace the needle cannulas currently used

• Contains a built-in sterile adhesive dressing to reduce the current number of steps needed, thereby increasing convenience for healthcare practitioners

Patents

A provisional patent application has been filed.

Inventor