Using synchronized flow technology (SFT), a new compression system prevents deep vein thrombosis (DVT) following hip

Bellete

arthroplasty. A recent study published in the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery found that the ActiveCare+S.F.T. device demonstrated a significant decrease in bleeding compared to the drug Lovenox for patients undergoing hip arthroplasty.

Patients with ActiveCare+S.F.T. can walk around with the device.

Although Israel-based Medical Compression Systems Ltd. (MCS; Or Akiva) has product approval for a general indication, it decided to target the orthopaedic market with its device because bleeding complications have been a serious issue faced by physicians in this segment, according to Ambaw Bellete, president of MCS Inc., the U.S. business of MCS Ltd. By eliminating the use of anticoagulant drugs, the ActiveCare device offers an alternative that reduces the risk of bleeding.

Weighing just 1.6 lb, the device can be worn for more than 20 hours, which allows patients to wear and walk around with it. It can also be battery operated for up to six hours. The company’s initial focus is to accelerate the use of the device in U.S. hospitals and outpatient centers. The portable system monitors the venous phasic flow and triggers compression so that it’s in synch with a patient’s venous phasic flow. “It creates very high flow pulsatility, reaching a peak venous velocity at the common femoral vein almost twice as high as any market leader device in the IPC –intermittent pneumatic compression] market,” says Bellete. “Unlike other devices in this space, this is the first portable device that is available for the prevention of VTE [venous thromboembolism] in patients undergoing hip and knee replacement surgery.”