Infusing A New Market from DFW TechBiz
By Bruce Felps
Hypothermia begins to set in on trauma victims almost immediately after suffering a wound. As the body rushes blood to the afflicted area, it starts burning internal energy and lowering the body temperature. Infused fluids such as blood and glucose exacerbate the problem because, for example, blood must be refrigerated at about 40 degrees Fahrenheit to keep blood cells alive. But a privately-owned Dallas company hopes its new product warms up emergency medical services. Through an old business associate, Estill Medical Technologies Inc., officials learned of the chilling problems paramedics faced when answering trauma calls and the crude methods emergency personnel used to warm body fluids before starting an intravenous flow of fluids. "They literally had to hold the IV (pouch) under their arms to warm it up," the CFO of Estill said. "At best, they could bring it up to room temperature." Estill designed a mobile fluid warming device the company calls Thermal Angel. It's a rectangular plastic box about a foot long, 4 inches wide and an inch thick, containing heating elements and metal tubing. Batteries power the warming elements. Thermal Angel acts as a conduit between an IV pouch and the needle inserted in a patient's arm. As refrigerated blood, glucose or saline flow from the pouch to the bloodstream, Thermal Angel gradually warms the liquid to near body temperature, which reduces the chance of hypothermia.
[See use of the Thermal Angel in Hospitals, Military and Government, Pre-Hospital, and other Specialties]
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