Denke Medical

DenKe Medical Ltd (DML) is a start up company that has developed the Portacator® that can benefit patients with implanted Intravenous Ports (IPs) also known as Venous Access Devices (VADs). The ports consist of a chamber and a catheter that is surgically inserted into a vein. The chamber is seen as a bump under the skin into which a needle is inserted to deliver medication for patients that require regular IV therapy. The ports alleviate the need for patients to continually use and locate different sites for hypodermic needles.

It is the location of the needle into the chamber under the skin that can cause problems if not correctly aligned. Normally the location of the chamber and the placement of the needle is determined by fingers feeling around the ‘bump’ of the port thus effectively ‘guessing’ where the centre of the Huber needle is to be inserted. An incorrect needle insertion can cause the line not to function properly requiring the needle to be removed and inserted again.  The procedure can be uncomfortable for the patient and so if the port can be prevented from moving whilst the needle is inserted, then it is more likely to be hailed as a successful ‘first-time attempt’. 

The procedure can be quite awkward and is usually only performed by a specialist nurse. In the worst case scenario, a misaligned needle is inserted into the outer casing of the port causing premature failure of the port.

Using the Portacator®, the subcutaneous port chamber bump is located and held steady using only two fingers. This improves the visualisation area for the port chamber and also increases the success rate of first time access that promotes more confidence by users to access ports.