Needle stick injuries continue to be a prevalent health rick the world over. Cosmetic surgeon Dr Colin Moore shares how his aid work in the Middle East led to the genesis of his specially designed safety injection system.

Breakthroughs in scientific and medical technologies have allowed doctors to provide much-needed medical aid for developing countries, but one of the most prevalent risks for both visiting doctors and local patients continues to be one of the most preventable: needle stick injuries.

As chief of surgery at the King Khalid National Guard Hospital in Saudi Arabia in 1991, cosmetic surgeon Dr Colin Moore witnessed the severity of HIV contraction via needle stick injuries in the Middle East first hand. ‘I was working at the King Khalid National Guard Hospital in Jeddah, which is situated on the main route into Mecca for pilgrims and is heavy with traffic all year round, evident in photos of busses and trucks laden with passengers from the third world,' he says. ‘We were the first point of call for road accident medical relief, which required an all- hands-on-deck response from the surgical, intensive care, anaesthetic and ER staff.'

During this time, Dr Moore recalls receiving 10, 20 or 30 accident victims in one hit, with increasing numbers of HIV-positive patients being treated in the operating room. ‘At this time the rapid HIV test was not available - we had to wait a couple of days for diagnosis with the test we had access to. As such, patients would arrive at the operating room with an unknown HIV status,' he says. ‘This caused increased anxiety among the surgical and scrub team staff, as well as inevitable delays in patient treatment.'

The need to reduce and prevent needle stick injuries among staff and patients was escalating, so Dr Moore focused on improving one of the most rudimentary medical instruments: the needle. ‘I directed my efforts to needle stick injuries and how to lessen the risk, given that some of these injuries are inevitable despite the best efforts of the staff to avoid them,' he says.

Despite the introduction of several different safety needle devices in the past 10 years, needle stick injuries are still a frequent occurrence. According to the 2008 Needle Stick Injury Survey by the UK Royal College of Nursing, nearly one half (48 percent) of all respondents reported they have been stuck by a needle or sharp used on a patient at some point in their careers. Of these, 57 percent provided details of the last time they were stuck: 86 percent of cases reported that the injury drew blood; 92 percent knew which patient the needle had been used for; and in only half of cases the source patient was blood tested.

‘I came up with the idea of a positive pressure syringe with a one-way valve in the needle so the interior of the needle never became contaminated with the patient's body fluid,' Dr Moore explains. ‘This created a system that was non-infective and decreased the likelihood of infection from a needle stick injury.'

After leaving Saudi Arabia and continuing his work in Australia, Dr Moore realised his design could benefit a widespread need for a safer needle design. ‘When I returned to Australia, my brother and I were watching a news report about a person who had stepped on a discarded needle and was now at risk of developing HIV- AIDS,' he says. ‘I commented that I had the answer to this widespread problem and explained my idea for a one-way positive pressure syringe. It was agreed we would progress the idea together.'

Dr Moore's SoloFlow needle design can be pre-loaded with a stable liquid drug and is based on a no-reflux mechanism that prevents any human tissue or fluid from remaining in the needle after injection. ‘We found that, even though the outside of the needle has come in contact with the patient's body fluid and is potentially infective, the risk of injection is much less so than if the interior of the needle was also contaminated,' explains Dr Moore. ‘Organisms on the outside of the needle die off in a matter of seconds to minutes, so any later needle stick injury (30 minutes plus) would be virtually infection free.'

The second design, the SoloFlow Piggyback, contains separate compartments for powdered drug and solvent so the two can be ‘mixed' inside the needle. ‘SoloFlow Piggyback is designed to save storage space and reduce time when dispensing the drug, offering a unique way to reduce the risk of infection from needle stick injuries with the added benefits of being pre-fillable and single-use only,' explains Dr Moore.

With nearly one in four nurses who use needles stating they fear needle stick injury a great deal, Dr Moore says it's clear that a safe injection system such as SoloFlow could be the answer for both medical professionals and patients, here and abroad. ‘The current safety designs on the market are far from foolproof; rather, they are simply the best preventative measure the industry has come up with - thus far,' says Dr Moore. ‘I believe our SoloFlow system is the first true innovation in safety needle syringes to come about in several years and will provide companies and medical professionals with increased safety and peace of mind.'

Can be pre-filled with a stable liquid drug. The twist-lock motion unites the needle and barrel.	The click-lock plunger ensures one-time use only.
No human tissue or fluid remains in the needle after injection.	Separate compartments for powdered drug and solvent. No other safety needle on the market offers this feature.