With the outbreak of the COVID-19 crisis earlier this year, the Medical Technology segment of ZEISS focused on helping address a growing need for safety measures when medical staff is treating positive tested patients. During intubation, an often-necessary treatment path for severe cases of the infection, doctors are especially prone to exposure given the close proximity to the transmission site. With the video laryngoscope ZEISS NURA, the company offers protection to the user by enabling an increased distance between themselves and the patient.
Corporate Social Responsibility
“Supporting local communities and helping the greater good has been a core believe of ZEISS since the inception of the company. With the COVID-19 crisis still affecting many people around the globe, ZEISS wants to support those who need it most by quickly making ZEISS NURA available,” says Dr. Ludwin Monz, President and CEO of Carl Zeiss Meditec AG. The company is donating the initial batches to hospitals with immediate need, afterwards ZEISS NURA will be available through the ZEISS sales channels.
To quickly address the global need for this technology, the company put all efforts on speed during the development and release process, utilizing their global network of suppliers and sales channels. Dirk Brunner, President Microsurgery Carl Zeiss Meditec AG emphasizes: “Thanks to our knowledge and many years of experience in the medical device industry, we have managed to quickly develop a new visualization tool that focuses on providing a simple and efficient workflow improvement.”
Reducing the Risk of Infection through Safer Distance
In severe cases of COVID-19, mechanical ventilation is often required to give patients the necessary respiratory support. During intubation with regular laryngoscopes, there is usually little distance between the provider and the patient, increasing the potential risk of infection for the healthcare professionals.
The new ZEISS NURA allows for a safer distance by providing medical staff with a laryngoscope that has an ergonomic design and simple workflow. The Macintosh spatula combined with an integrated camera and a LED light allows for easy visualization of relevant anatomical structures on the screen. Conceptualized as a single-use laryngoscope, ZEISS NURA takes the guesswork out of cleaning, while meeting hygiene requirements.
“We want to create a distance between us and the patient to reduce the direct exposure to aerosols. This is only possible when using a video laryngoscope, not with conventional laryngoscopy. The direct advantage of the ZEISS NURA is the design featuring single use blades where we have no discussion how to sterilize and if the normal sterilization cycle kills all the viruses,” says Dr. Dorothee Hock, Attending physician Anesthesiology at the Bezirkskrankenhaus Guenzburg, Germany.
Shipments to COVID-19 hotspots in preparation
With the first batch delivered to a European COVID-19 center, the company is preparing shipment of the next 5000 units to hospitals around the world. In markets like India and the USA, where levels of new infections are still increasing, the visualization technology ZEISS NURA should help make crowded intensive care units a little bit safer for the staff.
