Medical Professionals

Podcast #153 - Invention and Irrigation with Patrick O'Malley

6/25/2019

Patrick O'Malley is an emergency medicine physician that invented the IRIG-8 device. He decided to create a device that he feels is better than what was previously on the market in regards to wound irrigation. Learn how he developed the device and how he has incorporated it into his practice.

You can learn more about the IRIG-8 device by clicking the link here. The device is intuitive and is able to rapidly irrigate wounds with large volumes of fluids such as saline or water. Below are two examples of the device in action. Notice the subtle tricks like covering the cap when tipping it back up to avoid splashing in the first video and the second video uses suction to help collect the large amount of fluid from irrigation.

There are some key advantages of this system versus others on the market. By using wall oxygen or wall air (can also be from a tank), there is a constant and measurable pressure. It does not require squeezing or drawing up fluid multiple times. This allows for very fast delivery of high volumes of fluid.

You may be curious what the evidence is out there regarding this device or irrigation in general. We know from previous discussions thatirrigation is not necessary forabscess management. To learn more about some of the evidence that Patrick refers to in the podcast, check out the files below.

Overall, this is a great product. It is designed for the large and/or contaminated wounds. It is especially important in busy settings where there is little time to do more traditional irrigation techniques. Although the evidence for such a device is limited, the concepts make sense. Learn more about the details by listening to the podcast.

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