Hampton Roads-based medical device company ivWatch, LLC racked up several prestigious recognitions and awards this year for its innovative work in enhancing IV safety.
The company, headquartered in Newport News, was named to the Inc. 2024 Best in Business list in the health products category. The annual list celebrates the exceptional achievements and contributions of companies that find “new ways to outperform, iterate, innovate, and drive change across their industry and their community.”
ivWatch’s product is a small sensor and patient monitor that monitors an intravenous therapy (IV) site. IV therapy procedures involve fluids, medications and nutrients being directly administered through a patient’s vein. However, problems can arise when the drugs accidentally leak from an IV into the tissue surrounding the vein, in a complication known as “IV infiltration.” Infiltration can cause tissue damage and, if left untreated, could result in pain, swelling, amputation of the affected limb and sometimes death.
ivWatch CEO Gary Warren said peripheral IV therapy failure rates due to infiltration are estimated to be between 25-50%.
“It’s crazy how bad the problem is,” Warren said. “I refer to it as health care’s biggest issue right now that isn’t being discussed.”
To prevent the side effects of infiltration, ivWatch has created a sensor that is placed near an IV site to detect infiltrations and extravasations. If the fluid leaks into the tissue, the monitor notifies clinicians to assess the IV site.
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Warren said the recognition from Inc. felt “great” and credited those who work at the company for their dedication.
“We’re on a mission to solve one of the biggest problems in health care by reducing IV injuries, and this recognition belongs to the passionate ivWatch team who have started a movement along with our customers to keep patients safe from IV harm,” he said in a statement.
Also this year, ivWatch was awarded first place in the Virginia Manufacturers Association’s list of “Coolest Things Made in Virginia” and recently took third place in the Startup World Cup — a global startup competition.
The ivWatch company was founded in 2010 and has since monitored more than 300,000 patients globally. The company’s technology is now available in the U.K., Ireland, the Netherlands, Belgium, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Qatar, Israel, and Kuwait.
Helen Stephens, ivWatch’s vice president of global sales, said it’s difficult to predict how long it takes for infiltration to become fatal from the moment the leakage starts. That’s why she said the technology is “critical” to detect the problem as soon as possible so clinicians can adjust the treatment of the patient accordingly.
“We have to trust the technology, all of the data, all the clinical evidence that we have that says something’s going wrong, remove the catheter, prevent that injury to that patient,” Stephens said. “So it’s about patient safety, avoidable harm, and protecting the clinician as well as the patient. Because we don’t go to work to cause harm. You know, our job is to make somebody better.”
Looking ahead to 2025 and beyond, Warren said the company will focus on developing and rolling out additional sensors that can detect additional drug types. He also hopes to continue the product’s expansion, noting there are 2 billion peripheral intravenous catheters used worldwide each year, with 300 million used in the United States. He said at least half of those should have an ivWatch sensor on them.
“So, what’s my game plan? Someday, that we’re on a billion IVs a year,” Warren said.
Josh Janney, joshua.janney@virginiamedia.com
