SAFIRA (Safer Injection for Regional Anaesthesia)

SAFIRA (Safer Injection for Regional Anaesthesia) gives anaesthetists control through creating a single operator procedure, and incorporates an engineered safety solution to help reduce the chance of nerve injury in patients.

Current regional anaesthesia procedures require two operators: an anaesthetist who holds an ultrasound scanner and uses this to guide the needle tip placement and a second operator to inject the anaesthetic solution at a required pressure. It has been reported that anaesthetic solutions are often injected at high pressure. High pressure can cause damage to nerve fascicles, with serious nerve damage occurring in up to 1% of procedures and transient nerve damage in up to 8% of cases.

SAFIRA allows a single operator, an anaesthetist, to conduct the whole regional block at safe pressures. 

Medovate is developing SAFIRA with the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Kings Lynn NHS Foundation Trust.