ICU Medical Launches Diana Automated Sterile Compounding System

ICU Medical, Inc. ICUI today announced the U.S. launch of the Diana Hazardous Drug Compounding System at the American Society of Health System Pharmacists (ASHP) Midyear Meeting and Exposition in Las Vegas December 2-6, 2012. The Diana system is the world's first user-controlled automated sterile compounding system for the accurate, safe, and efficient preparation of hazardous drugs, and has been in clinical use in Europe for more than a year. (Logo:  http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120906/LA68795LOGO) Unlike automated technologies that require huge investments and do not fit within existing workflows, the Diana system cost-effectively keeps pharmacists and technicians in control of the compounding process from beginning to end. The system fits under the hood of a pharmacy's existing biological safety cabinet to protect clinicians from exposure to hazardous drugs and accidental needlesticks, while protecting the patient preparation from exposure to environmental contaminants. The Diana system provides automated checks and reminders to improve workflow efficiency and patient safety, and frees up pharmacists and technicians from many of the repetitive motions required during preparation and reconstitution, reducing the stresses and injuries that can occur as a result. By helping improve the efficiency of high-volume compounding, the Diana system delivers workflow efficiencies while helping reduce drug waste. Originally designed to keep clinicians safe from hazardous drug exposure during chemotherapy preparation, the microbiologically and mechanically closed Diana system also helps keep the drugs themselves safe from exposure to outside contaminants.^1,2  Organizations such as the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and the United States Pharmacopeia (USP <797>) have recommended the use of closed systems to help protect the healthcare worker from exposure to hazardous agents and to protect the sterility and integrity of drugs.^3,4