Covidien lands FDA approval for monitoring system

By Emily Greenhalgh
PBN Web Editor
Twitter: @EGreenhalgh

MANSFIELD – Medical device maker Covidience Plc. landed 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to market its Nellcor Benside SpO2 Patient Monitoring System in the United States.

The system continuously monitors SpO2 and pulse rates in adult, pediatric and neonatal patients. According to a release, this enables clinicians to detect subtle heart rate and oxygen variations earlier and gives them the opportunity to address respiratory complications sooner.

“Healthcare professionals on the general care floor, and in other lower- acuity areas of the hospital, need critical patient information at their fingertips so they can respond quickly to health threats,” Robert J. White, Covidien’s president of respiratory and monitoring solutions, said in a statement. “By giving them ready access to a patient’s respiratory history, the system allows them to focus on delivering efficient, high-quality care, not gathering and managing data.”