Export hopes for IV innovation

Murray Fenton aims to put an Adept electronic drip beside all hospital beds.

An innovative intravenous system is set to open up an export flow for medical manufacturers Adept and cut costs for hospitals.

The company based in Morningside, Auckland, has developed a low-priced electronic device to accurately control intravenous infusions.

Adept Medical managing director Murray Fenton said no cheap mechanical devices existed to manage and monitor flows for intravenous transfusions.

Traditionally hospitals have relied on roller clamps on IV lines, which need manual adjustment and regular checking.

Electronic pumps costing from $4000 to $20,000 per pump mean each hospital will only have a limited number spread around the wards.

The only tubing that can be used with the pump is as specified or supplied by the manufacturer at a cost of up to $65,000 over the life of the pump.

"So they pay up to 10 times as much for this tubing as they need to and that's thrown away every time it's used," said Fenton.

"Our aim is to have a very simple version. It won't do necessarily everything the pumps will do, but for normal ward use it will actually be very accurate, very simple to use and very quick."

The Adept IVO product was still in the testing stage, but would hit the market in the middle of the year.

Strong interest has been shown at an international medical trade show in Germany, with Adept likely to begin selling the product in the UK, Europe and the Middle East as well as New Zealand and Australia.

Fenton expects the Adept IVO to retail for around $1200 in New Zealand and significantly less when supplying large volumes to Third World countries.

The system uses a weighing mechanism holding the fluid bag, monitoring the minute weight changes and cancelling out vibrations, to manage infusion flows.

Fenton started the Adept as an injection moulding company around 40 years ago in his backyard shed.

After successfully producing and exporting a clip device used in animal slaughter, Fenton started looking around for different markets to specialise in.

The company contract manufactured ear grommets for Rex Medical before purchasing that part of the business when Rex Medical decided to focus on pharmaceuticals.

That entry into the medical field taught the company how to handle the regulations and standards for medical manufacturing.

The last couple of years have been spent developing products that suit the company's expertise, including supplying components to Fisher & Paykel Healthcare. Adept initially saw Third World countries as a logical market for the IVO pumps because hospitals there could not afford to purchase and maintain the more expensive electronic pumps.

"But there is a huge potential in basically having one of these at every bed in a normal ward," Fenton said.

He is hesitant to put a figure on the size of the potential market, but Fenton sees Adept taking a portion of the 400,000 pumps sold annually around the world.