As an increasing number of Americans begin to receive their COVID-19 vaccines, the volume of syringes used by medical staff also rises, and with it, syringe-induced wrist and hand pain.
SyringePro, a Wayfinder startup, is hoping to combat this. The startup created an ergonomic medical device accessory that fits syringes, reducing wrist and hand strain associated with injections.
The idea came to fruition after Dr. Bobby Nourani, founder and CEO of SyringePro, went on a two-week medical trip to Honduras. He administered so many injections in the first three days of the trip that he developed debilitating hand pain and quickly learned this was the norm for healthcare workers, not the exception, and set out to find a way to solve it.
“I started searching for a solution and soon realized no good options existed. After months of trial and error, I developed SyringePro, as a way to increase the efficiency and comfort of injections, while protecting the medical personnel administering the shots,” said Nourani.
The medical device accessory easily fits and slides onto syringes to improve leverage and comfort with repeated injections.
“Within a month of the original SyringePro model entering the market in October 2020, I was approached by colleagues to develop SyringePro for COVID-19 vaccine size syringes,” said Nourani.
SyringePro has now completed prototyping the new vaccine model that will be made with eco-friendly, medical-grade material that is 100 percent biodegradable.
With COVID-19 vaccinations ramping up, SyringePro wants to work with healthcare decision makers to make the device accessory available to medical personnel on a larger scale. Their hope is to provide more of the accessory in the future so many people can be vaccinated as quickly as possible while protecting healthcare workers from painful and repetitive strain injuries.
“The SyringePro team is committed to playing our part in the fight against COVID-19 and I hope this invention can protect fellow healthcare workers against hand strain and increasing the speed and effectiveness of their hard work,” said Nourani.
Learn more about SyringePro.
Main Graphic: Bobby Nourani, SyringePro and Kate Wokowsky, UCI Beall Applied Innovation