Gauss Surgical, the company that brought us an app that measures the amount of blood left in surgical sponges by simply taking photos of them, has now received FDA approval for an app that estimates blood loss in surgical suction containers. A clinician simply points the Triton Canister iPad app at a a container and presses the “scan” button. The app uploads the image to the company’s cloud system that processes the snapshots, estimating the hemoglobin level and blood loss. It can purportedly do this in different lighting conditions and even with saline fluid present in the same canister.

To help manage different containers, the clinic can choose to use QR code stickers that will identify each canister uniquely to the system.

“With this FDA clearance, we have extended the Triton System’s ability to give clinicians a better assessment of overall blood loss during surgery,” said Milton B. McColl, M.D., Chief Executive Officer of Gauss Surgical, in a statement. “Typically, anesthesiologists and surgeons visually guesstimate the blood loss in suction containers, which has been shown to be highly inaccurate. We believe that providing more accurate estimates aids in clinical decision making, particularly regarding the use of blood products. This can have a significant impact on patient safety and overall quality of care.”

source:Gauss Surgical