Single-use medical devices are described as any device which can be used during a medical procedure one time and on one patient only. After a single-use medical device has been used, it is disposed of and cannot be reused. Everyone will have encountered a single-use medical device during their lifetime, from syringes to tongue depressors, they are very common all across the world and in use on a daily basis.
What are the benefits to using disposable medical devices in place of their reusable alternatives?
- One of the most significant benefits of using single-use medical devices is patient safety. There is an increased attention within hospitals to improve infection control and by using disposable single-use medical devices, the device is only used on one person and then discarded. By using single-use medical devices, the possibility of cross-contamination and infection is greatly reduced.
- In order to ensure reusable devices are safe for patient use, it is necessary to ensure that they are clean and free from contamination. After each use, the device is taken out of service to be cleaned, disinfected and sterilised to ensure the potential for cross-contamination is removed. This is a time-consuming process involving healthcare professionals whose time could be used more efficiently used looking after patients. Single-use medical devices are clean and ready to use straight out of the box saving medical staff significant amounts of time and ensuring more care can be given to patients.
- Using single-use medical devices may appear to be a more expensive option but by removing the cleaning and reprocessing costs, it’s usually more cost-effective than using reusable devices. The cleaning process for reusable medical devices requires expensive equipment, consumable items and experienced staff to operate them. This coupled with the machine maintenance costs, ever increasing utility expenses, employee time and space required to house the decontamination facilities, it is clear to see the hidden costs of using reusable medical devices. It’s also worth mentioning that due to the harsh processes used for cleaning and sterilising reusable medical devices, they can only be reused a limited number of times before they need to be disposed. By using single-use medical devices, the cost of reprocessing is removed entirely and there are other savings to be realised by using single-use medical devices, such as the cost of manufacturing materials can be much less as they don’t need to withstand the harsh cleaning processes used on reusable devices.
Novara Technologies Ltd have years of experience working with medical device manufacturers specialised in the development of single-use disposable medical devices and medical cable assemblies
Our work includes reducing the cost of each unit by using a wider choice of engineering bio-compatible materials, suitable for use within medical devices. Our expertise with material selection for disposable single-use devices has helped several customers to convert their existing reusable devices and make them suitable for the disposable market. With our well-established knowledge of single-use medical devices and medical cable assemblies, we can help save you time, energy and cost whilst developing your next project.
In addition to this, our manufacturing facilities include a world class ISO 7 clean room, purposely built for the manufacturing of medical devices and medical cable assemblies. Our clean room facility and expertly trained team of operatives ensure that our products are manufactured in a clean environment, providing you with the confidence that manufacturing bio-burden is kept to a minimum with every medical device we produce.
To further guarantee the quality of our work, we’re accredited and operate to the medical device quality management system standard ISO13485, demonstrating that we are a well-qualified sub-contract manufacturer of medical devices.
If you need a supplier of single use disposable medical cable assemblies or medical devices, contact Novara Technologies today for more information.
