Intravenous (IV) drugs leave a huge margin for human error, particularly at the point of administration. Patients can get the wrong solution, an incorrect dosage, or an overly rapid rate of delivery. The solution may have been formulated incorrectly. Over 4,000 deaths related to IV mistakes occur in the U.S. each year.
SEA Medical Systems is a medical device company focused on reducing human error in the administration of IV drugs. The Sunnyvale, Calif.-based company is developing two products for the analysis and delivery of intravenous medications: IVCheck and SmartIV. IVCheck analyzes the contents of the drug before it leaves the hospital pharmacy. A sample of the IV fluid is placed on a sensor, which rapidly matches the formulation to a database trained to recognize a wide spectrum of drugs. SmartIV is a sensor that is placed on the IV line. It gives continuous reports on the properties and administration of the drug, giving nurses a backup.
Michael Weickert, President and CEO of SEA Medical, expects a potential return of hundreds of millions of dollars in sales. In the video below, Weickert sits down with OneMedTV correspondent Alicia Ontiveros at this year’s OneMedForum to discuss the company’s products and their market potential.