Transformative anaesthesia system launched in Gulf

Cambridge medical device developer Medovate has agreed with AKSIA Healthcare FZC to distribute its SAFIRA™ (SAFer Injection for Regional Anesthesia) product range in Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain. 

It is a huge and rapidly growing market and is tipped to welcome the technology with open arms.

SAFIRA™ is a revolutionary Class II medical device system which is transforming regional anaesthesia around the world by making it a one-person procedure and incorporating a built-in safety system to automatically limit injection pressure.  

Following regulatory approvals, SAFIRA™ will become available through AKSIA Healthcare FZC in these three key Middle East markets.   

Developed in collaboration with clinicians from the National Health Service in the UK, the award-winning system puts full control of the injection in the hands of the anaesthesiologist, freeing up the previously required assistant to carry out other tasks. 

The system also helps to improve patient safety by reducing the risk of nerve damage as it automatically limits injection pressure to less than 20psi.    

Medovate sales & Marketing director Chris Rogers said: “We are delighted to be working with Aksia Healthcare FZC as we now work towards launching SAFIRA in these key markets. 

“This agreement will allow patients and clinicians in both governmental and private facilities to benefit from the value that SAFIRA brings to safer regional anaesthesia.” 

Ahmed Sallam, managing director of AKSIA Healthcare FZC, added: “We are pleased to enter this partnership with Medovate to distribute SAFIRA™ across the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. 

“There is a real need for a system like this, not only to help improve patient safety but also to have a huge impact on the way regional anaesthesia is carried out by anaesthesiologists.” 

SAFIRA™ was demonstrated live at Arab Health 2022 by one of its inventors, Dr Emad Fawzy, a consultant anaesthesiologist at the flagship Sheikh Khalifa Medical City in Abu Dhabi.   

Dr Fawzy said: “I am delighted that this pioneering UK-developed medical system will soon be available to use across more Middle East states. The system has already been used by clinicians across the world and feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. 

“We are expecting a large demand for it from Middle Eastern clinicians as it has a huge impact on patient safety.” 

SAFIRA™ has the potential to make a significant impact by making injection during regional anaesthesia safer, reducing the risk of nerve injury from injection at high pressures. It won the United Kingdom HSJ ‘Patient Safety Innovation of the Year’ award in 2021. 

• PHOTOGRAPH: Dr Emad Fawzy, a consultant anaesthesiologist, demonstrating SAFIRA™ at Arab Health 2022