Konica Minolta, Medovate Sponsor Hands-on Workshop For Better Outcomes in Regional Anesthesia at ASA 2021

Wayne, NJ, October 7, 2021 – Konica Minolta Healthcare Americas, Inc. and Medovate Limited continue to partner on regional anesthesia education, announcing their joint sponsorship of a hands-on workshop at the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) annual meeting, ANESTHESIOLOGY 2021, being held October 8-12 in San Diego. The one-hour workshop on October 9 at 12 pm, “Safety and simplicity in regional anesthesiology: promoting better outcomes,” will be presented by J. Douglas Jaffe, DO, FASA, Associate Professor of Anesthesiology, Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist, an academic health system based in Winston-Salem, NC.

The workshop will demonstrate how new technologies in ultrasound and local anesthetic delivery are helping anesthesiologists provide safer regional anesthesia by reducing the potential risk of injury, promoting better outcomes for patients and simplifying processes, all which enhance patient care and satisfaction. Stations equipped with Konica Minolta’s SONIMAGE® HS2 Compact Ultrasound System and Medovate’s SAFIRATM regional anesthesia injection technology will give attendees an opportunity to learn the technique or enhance their skills.

“As an anesthesiologist, our mantra of patient advocacy and patient safety is founded in ensuring a patient’s journey through a relatively uncomfortable procedure,” says Dr. Jaffe. “Given the current opioid epidemic, the need for regional anesthesia and analgesia procedures has increased exponentially. Carried with it, of course, is the risk of the procedure itself. It is exciting to see new technology available to help us reduce the risk of nerve injury and improve the patient experience.”

Regional anesthesia has demonstrated better post-operative analgesia, decreased opioid consumption and length of stay, early rehabilitation, fewer anesthesia-related side effects and high patient satisfaction compared to general anesthesia ¹,².

The SONIMAGE HS2 System facilitates ultrasound-guided regional anesthesia procedures with an advanced algorithm, Simple Needle Visualization (SNV®), that improves needle visibility and increases accuracy in needle placement, both for in-plane and out-of-plane approaches. SNV also adjusts the sensitivity of needle visualization depending on the type of tissue. In addition to helping limit pressure of injection, SAFIRA also transforms regional anesthesia into a one-physician procedure by allowing a single anesthesiologist to conduct the entire procedure. Previously, an assistant was required to inject the anesthetic solution at the required pressure while the anesthesiologist inserted the needle tip using ultrasound guidance. With SAFIRA, hospitals can potentially reduce costs associated with staffing an additional assistant for these procedures as well as potentially reduce the time per procedure by up to five minutes³.

1. Cozowicz C, Poeran J, Zubizarreta N,etal.TrendsintheUseofRegionalAnesthesia: NeuraxialandPeripheralNerveBlocks. RegionalAnesthesia&PainMedicine 2016;41:43-49. 

2. Albrecht, E. and Chin, K.J. Advances in regional anaesthesia and acute pain management: a narrative review. Anaesthesia, 2020; 75:e101-e110.

3. Fong-Soe-Khioe R. Health Economic report Medovate commissioned written by a health economist from the University of East Anglia (UEA).