A Novel Device for Surveillance of Vascular Access Sites for Bleeding

Background Bleeding is often encountered after vascular access procedures for dialysis and fatal episodes of haemorrhage has been reported. A technological solution was sought to monitor for such rare but potentially catastrophic incidents. A novel device, BWATCH, was developed to detect fresh blood from wounds. Aims The aim of this clinical trial was to evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of the device in detecting bleeding in a clinical environment. Methods This a prospective, observational study on inpatients who will have a dialysis catheter inserted or removed. The device will be placed over the dressing for at least 6 hours. An alarm will be triggered if the device detects moisture and wavelength of light reflected specific for haemoglobin.