The DrillCover is a reusable, sterilisable cover that prolongs the life of specialised surgical drills and makes it safe to use ordinary power tools in orthopaedic surgery, reducing the financial costs for medical facilities.
The DrillCover is a reusable and sterile cover for surgical drills that prevents liquid and pathogens from making contact with the drill itself. The covers allow standard hardware tools to be used as safe and effective surgical instruments as a more affordable option for medical professionals. It also extends the life of expensive surgical instruments by simply covering them, to keep them out of the harmful autoclave process that uses high pressure steam to sterilise medical equipment.
As the covers can be swapped between surgeries and cleaned separately, operating theatres can perform back-to-back surgeries with a single power tool. This reduces upfront costs for medical surgeries, particularly in rural areas, where one regular power drill and five DrillCovers costs less than 10% of a hospital grade orthopaedic drill.
The product was first piloted in Uganda, where the company witnessed a number of patients with common musculoskeletal injuries that could not be safely operated on due to a lack of equipment and resources. The company now provides medical solutions across 30 countries and has expanded the range of covers to make them compatible with a wider variety of medical and veterinary equipment.
Why you should care
Surgical equipment is prohibitively expensive and therefore inaccessible to many medical facilities, with drills costing upwards of $30,000. In developing country contexts this may either result in reduced access to life-saving surgery, or the surgery being performed using ordinary power tools or manual hand drills. Without proper sterilisation, this can be unhygienic and dangerous. Even in facilities with expensive orthopaedic drills, surgeons often have to put off surgeries whilst waiting for drills to be sterilised. The DrillCover allows surgeons to perform more timely, life-saving surgeries more safely.
How the Global Goals are addressed
Good health and well-being
The DrillCover increases access to crucial medical equipment by offering a safe and sterile solution that is affordable.
Responsible consumption and production
DrillCovers improves the longevity of surgical drills through reducing the need for sterilisation which can corrode and damage the drills and batteries.
Arbutus Medical
Arbutus Medical was founded in 2014 by a team of biomedical engineers at the University of British Columbia in Canada in partnership with surgeons from Canada and Uganda.
Global Goals addressed