Capsule Holder For Safe and Efficient Liquid Medication Extraction in Pharmacy Setting

1. Addresses a widely experienced problem in the treatment of hemorrhagic stroke 2. Increases safety for pharmacy technicians 3. The device is designed to be easy to both use and clean

1. Safety and efficacy in the procedure of extracting encapsulated liquid nimodipine 2. Could be used for other liquid medication capsules

Liquid nimodipine is a crucial, universally used medication to treat hemorrhagic stroke. Inherent to that condition, patients are often unable to swallow medication. This drug, however, is purchased by hospitals almost exclusively in capsule form, necessitating the manual extraction of the liquid medication from the capsule by pharmacy technicians using a scalpel and syringe, followed by administration to the patient via feeding tube. Due to the oily consistency of the liquid and tough capsule coating, this manual extraction can cause a loss of medication (approximately 20-30% medication lost per dose depending on technician expertise). Additionally, the extraction process poses dangers for the technician as they handle the capsule with one hand and the syringe or scalpel with the other. To address this issue, UCI personnel have developed a device that provides a stable support for the capsule so that the technician may safely extract medications, such as nimodipine, and also is designed to be easily washed and sterilized.

State Of Development

Prototype developed and has been used successfully

Working towards adopting for regular use at UCI Medical Center.

Tech ID/UC Case

26018/2016-930-0

Related Cases

2016-930-0

USA