August 29, 2007 — Hemodynamic monitoring technology company Edwards Lifesciences Corp. announced the introduction of its Edwards PediaSat oximetry catheter, the first real-time, continuous ScvO2 monitoring device designed specifically for children.
This new central venous catheter uses fiber optics to monitor and identify potentially life-threatening changes in oxygen-saturation of venous blood in critically ill children. This advanced technology was previously only available for adults. It is even more important for children, since they typically do not demonstrate the same warning signs of potentially fatal issues and can destabilize much faster than adults.
“Continuing our history of critical care innovations, Edwards is proud to introduce the first ScvO2 monitoring device designed specifically for children,” said Carlyn D. Solomon, Edwards’ corporate vice-president, critical care. “Based upon feedback from leading clinicians already using our PediaSat oximetry catheter, we believe the use of this technology has the potential to become a best practice for monitoring pediatric conditions in the operating room and intensive care unit.”
“The PediaSat oximetry catheter provides a unique solution to a long-standing need for a critical care monitoring device that is suitable for the smaller anatomy of a child,” said Aman Mahajan, M.D., Ph.D., University of California, Los Angeles. “Clinicians now have an early warning system to provide critical therapy by using the PediaSat oximetry catheter’s continuous, real-time insight into the balance of oxygen delivery and consumption, and trending of the patient’s status over time. With this information, clinicians can more confidently guide therapy and help improve outcomes for critical care pediatrics.”
Until now, clinicians had to rely on manual, intermittent blood sampling to monitor a child’s oxygenation status in a critical care setting. Intermittent blood sampling does not provide the same wealth of information as the PediaSat oximetry catheter, and incurs the risks of multiple blood draws, infection and increased potential for transfusions.
The company says there are thousands of critically ill children (from newborn to 16 years old) that can benefit from the PediaSat oximetry catheter, including children with congenital heart disease, complex cardiac conditions, sepsis and septic shock, trauma and brain injuries, pulmonary disease, transplants, hematology/oncology patients and those with other high-risk conditions.
Beginning with the introduction of the Swan-Ganz catheter in the early 1970s, Edwards has partnered with clinicians to develop new products that advance critical care medicine, including the FloTrac sensor, the Vigilance II monitor, and now the PediaSat oximetry catheter. Over the past 35 years, Edwards’ critical care products have been used around the world to help clinicians manage more than 30 million patients.
For more information: www.edwards.com
July 25, 2024 
