The safePICO arterial blood gas syringe

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With the safePICO self-fill blood gas syringe, you can improve your mixing and get results you can trust.

Mixing ball helps you obtain a homogeneous sample
SafeTIPCAP minimizes the risk of blood contact
Barcode helps you get a correct match between your patient and blood sample
Integrated needle shield device minimizes the risk of needlestick injury
Dry electrolyte-balanced heparin reduces the risk of your sample clotting

Image Credit: Radiometer

Why mixing is important in the preanalytical phase

In a Radiometer-sponsored webinar on minimizing preanalytical errors in blood gas testing, 48% of participants mentioned issues related to mixing as the most prevalent errors in the preanalytical phase of blood gas testing. Examples of such errors in mixing are clots or hemolysis.

The safePICO syringe is designed to help you adequately mix your sample. That’s why it comes with a built-in mixing ball and dry electrolyte-balanced heparin, helping you obtain a clot-free, homogeneous sample and results you can trust.

The safePICO syringe helps minimize other preanalytical errors, such as:

Image Credit: Radiometer

Manual mixing and automatic mixing

The built-in mixing ball in the safePICO syringe aids the fast and thorough manual mixing of the sample.

However, when you mix your sample manually, make sure you don’t mix it too vigorously to reduce the risk of hemolysis.[1]

Using automatic mixing integrated in your blood gas analyzer aids in obtaining a homogenous sample for correct results.

In fact, studies comparing manual and automatic mixing have demonstrated that automatic mixing is superior to manual mixing in producing a homogeneous sample and obtaining correct results.[2]

Wennecke G. Useful tips to avoid preanalytical errors in blood gas testing: electrolytes. www.acutecaretesting.org Oct 2003.
Grenache DG et al. Integrated and automatic mixing of whole blood: an evaluation of a novel blood gas analyzer. Clin Chim Acta 2007; 375: 153-57.

Image Credit: Radiometer

The safePICO aspirator for arterial line blood gas sampling

The safePICO aspirator has an integrated mixing ball and a new 1.0 mL label. The new label clearly shows the amount of blood you need for correct automatic mixing. It also shows you the amount you need for measuring all possible parameters on the ABL analyzers.

The safePICO aspirator with 1.0 mL label is designed for accurate blood sample volume. With accurate blood sample volume, you use nothing more or less than the exact amount of blood necessary to produce reliable results. Thus the 1.0 mL label contributes to Patient Blood Management.

Image Credit: Radiometer

Barcode connects patient with sample

The safePICO blood gas syringe is already barcoded, helping you match the sample with the correct patient.

With the FLEXLINK data management system, you can scan the sample directly at the bedside and link it with your patient’s ID. This gives you confidence that you have the right result for the right patient.