"Electronic System Protects Surgeons From HIV, Hepatitis"

Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1992. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

"Electronic System Protects Surgeons From HIV, Hepatitis"

United Press International (12/23/92)
Estrada, Ray

Abstract: Los Angeles--A new apparatus designed to protect operating room personnel from infections like HIV and hepatitis was used for the first time Tuesday at the University of Southern California Hospital. The device is battery operated and is connected to a surgical patient with an electrode while the surgeon, nurses, and others in the operating room stand on special pads. The manufacturer, San Diego-based InCoMed, said that similar monitors can be connected to basins, blood supplies, or other potential sources of contamination. If any fluids from the patient leak through surgical gloves or gowns, they complete an electrical circuit and incite an alarm. At that point, a leaky glove can be replaced or a tainted gown changed and the fluid washed away before HIV or hepatitis B infection spreads. InCoMed has tested the device, called a barrier integrity monitor early warning system, at four U.S. hospitals over the past 18 months. Dietmar Rabussay, InCoMed president, said, "Before, it would have been very difficult to see something [such as a glove puncture] because a surgeon's hand would be covered with blood." He also said the company is developing a similar system that can be used in emergency rooms and for oral surgery. "It is much more dangerous [for hospital workers] in an emergency room because there's no way of knowing whether the patient has HIV," said Rabussay.

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