Andaltec’s expertise helped a Madrid-based nurse develop an easy-to-use syringe container and found her own business.
Andaltec, the Technological Centre for Plastics, has participated in the development of an innovative syringe carrier device to be used by health workers in emergency and catastrophe situations. This tool, which has been devised by nurse Ana Cintora, is primarily a container that allows for syringes already loaded with medication for immediate or gradual administration to be correctly aligned and ordered.
The syringe carrier is a device unique in the market due to its numerous advantages: it is easy to clean, sterilisable in a microwave and allows for medication to be accessible, without being carried, leaving the health worker’s hands free to perform other tasks. Moreover, it is ergonomic and helps to increase efficiency when injecting medicines. The nurse behind this project came to Andaltec with her initial idea; since then, Andaltec has been involved in the whole development process, participating in the design, material choice and prototype manufacture, as well as carrying out the experimental tests on the syringe carrier’s prototype.
All about choices
Andaltec’s technicians proposed some design improvements, such as placing the device on a belt upon which the container could be attached with a clip, making it capable of rotation, and enabling the possibility of placing it in parallel or perpendicularly to the worker’s body, so that it can also become a useful working table. The device’s inventor has also been advised on the most suitable material choice, polypropylene in this case, as well as on the cost of moulding and serial part manufacturing. Thus, it will be possible to market a low-cost and high-quality device.
Cintora said that she decided to launch this project when she realised there was nothing like it in the market: “Up to now, it was necessary to carry the medication, which needs to be loaded and accessible, in a tray or in our pockets, but carrying syringes in a pocket isn’t safe and the tray implies having at least one hand busy. Besides, the syringe carrier can be cleaned and sterilised after each patient, which makes it a very safe system.”
Cintora highlighted how the help provided by Andaltec brought her idea to life, as the Technological Centre’s intervention has enabled a much more complete device. “Andaltec has guided me through the whole process and they have suggested very valuable improvement measures that have been very helpful to develop the product,” she added.
Getting it to market
Once the device is completely developed and its successful industrial scale production has been ensured, Cintora will be establishing a start-up company, for which she is currently looking for investors to help market the product. Her goal is making the product available in Spain during the first semester of 2021. Mari Ángeles Pancorbo, Technician in Andaltec’s Projects Area, added that this project is proof of the way Andaltec can help entrepreneurs turn their ideas into a viable product: “This is a very clear example that R&D investment is indeed very profitable, as we offer comprehensive support that allows entrepreneurs to realise a product ready to be marketed.”
Andaltec has also brought its extensive experience to other products for medical applications, such as a device to avoid tearing during childbirth, developed alongside a researcher from the University of Jaén. The Technological Centre for Plastics has also created 3D models to prepare doctors for surgeries, and is currently executing the PoliM3D Project, intended to obtain active polymers designed for 3D printing in medical applications.