SonoNurse

SonoNurse VS designs medical devices for nursing work at the patient's bedside. The company describes itself as a medical research and development studio based in Montréal. It identifies unmet clinical needs, designs the tools that answer them, and develops them to clinical maturity. Hospitals and clinics are the target buyers, and clinical and research partners take part in the development.

The risk of error is concentrated at the moment of care. Intravenous drug administration is an example: identifying the product, dosing and placing the catheter are done by hand, at the bedside. Intravenous catheter placement does not always succeed on the first try. Expiry dates and lot tracking of medical products add a second point of failure.

The product

The team is developing four devices. DVI-Station mounts on medication carts, reads vials with computer vision, and displays clinical information in real time. Install-Vasc attaches to ultrasound machines and guides needle alignment while an intravenous catheter is placed. ExpirLot, still in development, handles expiry dates and lot traceability. TrioPerf, still in development, regulates the flow of an infusion. In each case, the clinical decision stays with the nurse; the device checks the information and guides the action.

What it changes in practice

• Clinical information appears as soon as the vial is picked up, because DVI-Station reads its label with computer vision.
• Needle alignment is guided while the catheter is placed, because Install-Vasc attaches directly to the ultrasound machine.
• Expiry dates and lot traceability move to a dedicated device, ExpirLot, instead of being tracked separately.