A newly released study in the Journal of Clinical Monitoring and Computing shows that the unique Automatic Gas Control (AGC) in Getinge’s anesthesia machine Flow-i, lowers sevoflurane wastage by up to 58 percent; a sustainable and economic approach without compromising patient safety.
The climate challenges call for actions from both individuals and organizations worldwide. For global medtech supplier Getinge, EcoDesign is used across all product development - an approach that benefits the environment as well as the customers’ economy. One of the areas where Getinge has made big progress in contributing to more sustainable healthcare is anesthesia.
“Global emissions of fluorinated volatile anaesthetics in 2014 equaled three million tons of CO2. Given the strong heat-trapping potency of volatile anaesthetics, anaesthetists have an important responsibility in this regard,” says Assoc. Prof. Alain Kalmar, Clinical anesthetist at AZ Sint-Jan Brugge-Oostende, Belgium, and one of the researchers behind the new study.
A few years back, Getinge launched a unique AGC technology for the Flow-i anesthesia machine to support anaesthetists further. When patients are at their most vulnerable, AGC brings visibility, control and precision to provide low- and minimal-flow anesthesia.
“Safe, cost-effective and convenient, AGC is engineered to improve forecasting and control of anesthetic agents during the induction and emergence of anesthesia. Simple pre-settings give high precision, improved comfort and increased safety. With minimal agent consumption hospitals can save costs and reduce the environmental footprint,” says Mikael Petrini, Global Clinical Application Specialist at Getinge.
The new study backs this up by indicating that the AGC technology permits very significant economic and ecological benefits, combined with excellent stability and convenience.
“It is abundantly clear that on a hospital or society level the investment in automated systems generously pays off. On an ecological level, it should be emphasized that the patient receives the same level of anesthesia, with even increased safety, but with a lower cost for both society and the biosphere,” says Assoc. Prof. Kalmar.
He continues:
“Based on our findings, we recommend that routine clinical practice using low flow anesthesia should be abandoned, and that all anesthesia machines are upgraded as soon as possible with automatic delivery technology.”
