BenchMark, eScreen take honors in MDEA competition

Ventana was honored for its BenchMark automated histology staining system, a modular automated system for staining tissue samples on glass microscope slides.

The entry from eScreen Inc. was the eScreen drugs-of-abuse testing system, a Web-enabled point-of-care device and workstation designed exclusively for drugs-of-abuse screening and data management.

Now in its fourth year, the annual MDEA competition recognizes contributions and advances in the design of medical products. Entries are judged according to a variety of criteria, including product innovation, design and engineering excellence, end-user benefit, and cost-effectiveness in manufacturing and healthcare delivery.

A comprehensive review of the entries was performed by an impartial, multidisciplinary panel of third-party jurors with expertise in biomedical engineering, human factors, industrial design, medicine, nursing, diagnostics, and medical packaging. The jury ultimately selected 28 winners in the competition's 10 medical product categories.

The entries by Ventana and eScreen were named winners in the category of in vitro diagnostics, which encompasses biochemicals for diagnostic use, related instrumentation, and home-use IVD devices.

The BenchMark system was launched in September 2000. It is the first histology instrument to automate the labor-intensive steps required in baking, dewaxing, cell conditioning, and staining tissue for the purpose of cancer and infectious-disease diagnosis. The instrument is designed for use by laboratory technicians in the pathology departments of hospitals and reference labs. The slides are processed with various reagents that remove embedded paraffin, pretreat tissue to expose targets, and bind and detect specific antigens or DNA and RNA sequences with a localized color change or fluorescence. The stained slides are then reviewed under a microscope by a pathologist to determine the diagnosis. The suggested retail price of the system is $125,000.

The BenchMark automated histology staining system by Ventana Medical Systems Inc. (Tucson, AZ), winner of a 2001 Medical Design Excellence Award.

The eScreen system was made commercially available in May 2000. It is the first digital point-of-collection drugs-of-abuse testing system cleared to market, and the first such product to receive FDA clearance under the agency's guideline for prescription workplace drugs-of-abuse tests. The system consists of a specimen cup with a smart lid (eCup) and an optical Internet appliance (eReader) that scans, reads, and transmits drugs-of-abuse test results confidentially via a secure Internet connection to a remote customer. Designed especially for use in employment screening and similar applications, the system is operated by physicians and their staff in a healthcare setting.

Commenting on this year's winning products, jury chair Michael E. Wiklund, a human factors engineering consultant with the American Institutes for Research (Concord, MA), said, "Many of the manufacturers started with a ubiquitous product—such as a safety needle, stretcher, artificial foot, or compressed-gas bottle—and achieved remarkable functional and human factors improvements. Their breakthroughs were mostly tied to analyzing how people interacted with existing devices and finding ways to improve those interactions dramatically, thereby making user tasks safer and more efficient."

Wiklund added, "The winning manufacturers sweated the details, paying close attention to industrial design qualities such as form, fit, and finish, resulting in a refined appearance and smooth mechanical interactions. As one would expect, several of the winning products, including life-saving devices used to treat dangerous heart conditions, were distinguished by pioneering technology and manufacturing technique."

The eScreen drugs-of-abuse testing system by eScreen Inc. (Overland Park, KS), a 2001 MDEA winner.

The 28 winning products will receive gold or silver award recognition at a ceremony on June 6, 2001, during the Medical Design & Manufacturing (MD&M) East 2001 Conference and Exposition at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City. Winning products will be on display in the MDEA booth throughout the show.

The MDEA program is presented by Canon Communications, publisher of IVD Technology. Sponsors of the 2001 competition are MedSource Technologies, DuPont Tyvek, Agion Technologies, Battelle, Avail, Colorado Medtech, IBA Medical Sterilization & Analytical Labs, and Medical Device & Diagnostic Industry magazine.

The deadline for entries in the 2002 MDEA competition is October 5, 2001. For further information about the Medical Design Excellence Awards program, visit the MDEA Web site at http://www.MDEAwards.com [5].

—Steve Halasey