General
Comparing the performance of blood warmers against the “ideal parameters”, as defined by TCCC
Users of equipment are always anxious to objectively compare available solutions based on an “ideal list” of parameters, prior to making a purchasing decision. When it comes to blood/fluid warmers, deriving such a list is nothing but trivial since the requirements vary considerably between settings. In its recent TCCC Guidelines for Management of Hypothermia in Tactical Combat Casualty Care, the TCCC attempted to address this challenge by deriving a list of ideal parameters for a blood warmer in combat settings.
The TCCC guidelines also state that to date, there is no optimal portable fluid/blood-warming device that has been evaluated independently among other devices with ideal features and performance characteristics for use on the battlefield. It also acknowledges that new products are in development. We took the initiative of comparing – as objectively as we can possibly be – the gap between what is available and what is required. The results are provided in the table below. The table compares the devices that are mentioned in the guidelines against the ideal parameters. We also took the liberty of adding the Warrior lite with Extra Power battery configuration (FDA pending) to the evaluation since we believe that this device is the closest to meeting the “ideal requirements” (column [B] in the table below).
It should be noted that as can be naturally expected, commercial data was not part of the TCCC assessment. Nonetheless, we added indicative per-use cost information in section 12 of the table below since this constitutes a major constraint for many organizations.
Finally, please make sure to review the disclaimers below the table.
Comparison of the Blood Warming Devices
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Press HERE to read the full TCCC guidelines.
DISCLAIMERS:
Buddy Lite™ is a registered trademark of Belmont Instrument Corporation®. Thermal Angel® is a registered trademark of Estill Medical Technologies, Inc®. Quantum™ is a registered trademark of Life Warmer®. Quality in Flow is not affiliated with these manufacturers. The performance benchmarking of their devices is based on the following sources:
- Buddy Lite™: The Belmont® buddy lite™ AC Blood/Fluid Warmer Operator’s Manual 702-00140/Rev H and Comparison of the performance of battery-operated fluid warmers (Amit Lehavi, Avraham Yitzhak, Refael Jarassy, Rami Heizler, Yeshayahu (Shai) Katz, Aeyal Raz), 14 May 2018
- Thermal Angel®: Thermal Angel® Blood and IV Fluid Infusion Warmer by BoundTree (https://manualzz.com/doc/26885783/thermal-angel%C2%AE-blood-and-iv-fluid-infusion-warmer), Thermal Angel® TA 200 Product Information 100-0010-122 Rev D (https://www.medwrench.com/documents/view/546/estill-medical-technologies-thermal-angel-ta-200-estillinformation-sheet), and Comparison of the performance of battery-operated fluid warmers (Amit Lehavi, Avraham Yitzhak, Refael Jarassy, Rami Heizler, Yeshayahu (Shai) Katz, Aeyal Raz), 14 May 2018
- Quantum™: Quantum™ User Manual ZZ1098 REV050619
It should be noted that the sources above may not be up-to-date! Please contact the manufacturer with any question pertaining to the benchmark study. Please let us know if you find any inaccuracy so that we can fix it (info@qinflow.com).
This benchmark does not intend to cover all the differences between the devices and it focuses on key parameters only. Further, with the exception of sections 11 and 12, the parameters for the benchmark study were taken for the referenced TCCC guidelines.
The benchmark study was commissioned by QinFlow alone and not all data points were independently verified. The manufacturers of the other solutions were not part of this benchmark study.
The benchmark study only mentions devices that were included in the referenced TCCC guidelines (with the exception of the enFlow™, a registered trademark of Vyaire Medical™, which is on a global recall due to aluminum toxicity concerns). There are other active warming devices in the market (or in development) that were not included in this benchmark study.
Use of the Warrior is subject to QinFlow’s terms of use. QinFlow does not guarantee that any of the devices will achieve the results or perform as mentioned in the study. QinFlow only warrants the information published in its Instructions for Use. The Warrior lite is FDA pending. Therefore, performance claims may change without notice. The claims in the table above are consistent with the claims for the EU market.
Commercial per-use data is merely indicative. Please contact the manufacturer for exact information.
