EMS Top Picks Award 2008
Global Pathogen Solutions Inc. was on hand at the Emergency Medical Services Conference 2008 in Fort Worth, Texas, to receive the Top Pick 2008 Award for the company’s newest product.
The flagship product, the D.A.R.T. Pro Kit (Dart Acquiring and Removal Tool) and X-Tractor Tip, was honored as one of the United States’ best new medical devices of 2008. The tool safely acquires, removes and stores contaminated, barbed stun-gun darts. A stun-gun is a less lethal means of restraint used by police, security personnel, border patrol, the military, or others to subdue individuals unwilling to cooperate with instructions given to them by members of these agencies. The D.A.R.T. Pro Kit and X-Tractor Tips eliminate any chance of first-responders or other professionals who handle these contaminated darts from becoming infected through an inadvertent needle-stick type injury, by the restrained person’s blood. The bloody stun-gun darts potentially contain deadly bloodborne pathogens such as HIV, AIDS and various strains of Hepatitis.
The Top Picks 2008 Award was presented by EMS Magazine, a national industry publication for the emergency medical services market that goes to more than 50,000 readers, recognizing the industry’s most innovative products each year. Judges for the competition are among the industry’s leaders.
In announcing the awards in its January 2009 issue, EMS Magazine was enthusiastic about the D.A.R.T. Pro Kit. Mike Smith, one of the judges for the national competition, heartily endorsed it. “If anyone can give me one good reason why any rig responding to a ‘patient tased’ would do so without a D.A.R.T. Pro Kit, I’d love to hear it. I don’t believe there is one.”
"The competition recognizes innovations in products and services for the pre-hospital market," said EMS Magazine publisher Scott Cravens. Entries came from companies exhibiting at the EMS Expo in Las Vegas, Nevada, in October 2008.
A basic fear of first-responders and anyone else who has to remove these fish-hook-like darts from often unruly people’s skin is that the person removing the darts will inadvertently become stuck and become infected from the contaminated blood of the person shot. The costs of testing and treatment for HIV or other diseases can be tremendous to any agency. These needle-stick type injuries can cost employers thousands of dollars and first responders their health.
The recognition from the magazine further emphasizes the necessity of making safety a priority for all who come in contract with stun-gun darts. Global Pathogen Solutions anticipates sales not only to first-responders but to police and other security agencies in the United States and abroad.
The pliers that are used today can lead to responders inadvertently becoming stuck and thus contaminated. According to the Centers for Disease Control, even a drop of blood, including dried blood, can lead to infection from a deadly pathogen.
Federal law regulates all agencies using equipment to annually evaluate relevant products available on the market and provide the most appropriate equipment to their employees. [Public Law 106-430 and subsequent OSHA regulations]. This law can only aid in expanded use of the D.A.R.T. Pro Kit as part of any agency’s Personal Protective Equipment.