Coimbra, Portugal and Schaffhausen, Switzerland – 13 January 2021 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The Rising Tide Foundation (RTF), the Rising Tide Foundation for Clinical Cancer Research (RTFCCR) and the Paediatric Health Care Foundation (Associação de Apoio aos Cuidados de Saúde dos Pequenitos or AACSP) are partnering on research into one of the most common challenges in modern healthcare - difficult venous access (DVA).
Although more than 80% of hospitalised patients require intravenous access, healthcare professionals find it difficult to perform intravenous cannulation in a great many patients. First-attempt failure is high - 26% in adults and 47% in children - leading to additional pain and anxiety for patients, lost productivity and increased costs for hospitals, and potential complications such as infection, infiltration and vein depletion.
To address this problem, Rising Tide funded the development and manufacture of the vein dilation device called Veinplicity®, which has been shown to increase vessel size and first-attempt cannulation success. Having completed product development and generated positive clinical results, Rising Tide decided to donate the intellectual property – including worldwide patents – and assets associated with Veinplicity, to a philanthropic or academic institution with the ability to expand on their research, and facilitate access to Veinplicity. AACSP, with its mission to promote quality, evidence-based paediatric care, has been identified as the ideal partner.
The research will be supervised by Professor Pedro Parreira (Nursing School of Coimbra, Portugal) and managed in three phases by lead Professor Paulo Costa (Nursing School of Coimbra, Portugal). The first phase, an observational interventional study at the Portuguese Institute of Oncology, will be followed by a national, multicentre randomised controlled trial incorporating different patient types and comparing different vascular access technology. In the final phase AACSPwill work with leading vascular access academic and research institutions around the world.
Professor Pedro Parreira, (PhD, AACSP’s President), said:
“First attempt success is what all nurses strive for when cannulating. We owe it to our patients to use appropriate tools to achieve that aim. We are very excited about this partnership with Rising Tide and the opportunity to provide the evidence required to guide continual improvement of nursing policies and procedures.”
Shawn Stephenson, Co-Founder and Chairman of the Rising Tide Foundation and the Rising Tide Foundation for Clinical Cancer Research added:
“At Rising Tide, we provide the seeds to incubate promising new ideas for the benefit of patients and practitioners. We are delighted to provide this grant to the AACSP in the knowledge that they will work with ESEnfC to continue multinational DVA research and in the sincere hope that the results will be of benefit to millions.”
Wendelin Zellmayer, CEO of Physeon, also commented:
“Research has shown that Veinplicity enlarges forearm veins by 50%. By improving vessel tone and creating a larger, more palpable and better anchored target, Veinplicity increases first-attempt cannulation success. That’s great news for patients. It’s also great news that future research will help shape protocols that ensure the proper use of technology, not just on an ad hoc basis but with each and every cannulation”.
