Every woman needs one
The Worlds First Automatic Urine Sample Collector
What is it?
The Whiz Midstream is a midstream urine sample collection device, designed and clinically proven to make urine sample collection automatic, patient and staff independent, delivering a clinically proven, significantly superior and more accurate sample, which is collected more hygienically, more easily, cleanly, cheaply and faster than anything currently available.
The Midstream (as stated in Jackson et al) “is not simply a funnel, but incorporates a flow-sensitive channel and diverter that, using urodynamic principles, excludes the initial low-flow portion of the urinary stream, thus discarding the contaminated early stream volume, and automatically collects the midstream volume without interrupting the stream.”
The Midstream is a quantum-leap forward in technology and product design for woman and for men. Whilst the equipment for the analysis of urine has improved dramatically in the last 100 years, the method of collection has barely changed at all and sometimes has regressed with poor practice, due to the increased cost in time and difficulty of giving a sample and the use of cheap mass-produced, non regulatory, disposable, poor quality containers. Thus fast modern analytic machines or high quality microbiology departments are rendered useless if the quality of the sample is poor. In addition, urine samples currently have a high inherent contamination rate – a national average of 31% (Lifshitz et al 2000) but going to 56% amongst GP’s collected samples (Garcia et al 2004).
Although the Whiz Midstream is designed for use by women of all ages, from 3 upwards, it can also be used by boys and men. We are in the process of developing a device for babies and its use here must be left to the total discretion of patents who would need to hold the device in place.
When to use it
The mid stream sample is the preferred clinical method for all urine sample collection but is essential for all tests where microbiological analysis could be required and it is regulatory method for all antenatal patients.
It can be safely said that everyone will give a number of urine test in his or her lifetime.. Pregnant mothers give between 8-12 per pregnancy. Hospital admission requires a urine test. It is the single most used test for healthcare and preferred, if appropriate, to all invasive tests like blood sampling. There are four basic types of testing: routine, anatomic pathology, esoteric and substance abuse for employment. Routine testing is the single largest segment and is growing at approximately 1-2% p.a. This segment includes standard tests such as check up tests.
Routine testing is expected to remain an integral part of the delivery of health care services due to the following factors:
- The aging in general of the population, resulting in increased utilization of testing services
- An increase in the number of routine tests due to advances in technology and scientific knowledge
- Increased automation in testing procedures due to the development of highly automated laboratory testing equipment leading to greater efficiencies
- Increased awareness among physicians and the general public concerning the importance of preventive medicine and early detection.
- Increased use of tests by physicians as protection against potential malpractice suits
- Analysis tests by the ‘worried-well’ sector of the population – these will not necessarily involve path labs – as the worried well may prefer to use kit or self-testing systems at home – but the principles of a clean sample catch and convenience remain for this and all the above – in fact are more important due to the need for accurate home analysis.
Especially in the Healthcare Industry where a service and an analysis is being provided it is essential to use the clinically best and most effective method immediately. 70% of all health care is pathology based and Urine sample collection, on which the analysis will be based and in turn on which the healthcare will be based is no exception.
Because the urine sample is the basis of so much in healhcare (including MRSA) and even when not the importance of reducing spillage to spread diseases (eg with C.difficile) the Whiz Midstream offers multiple benefits to:
- Patients
- Staff
- Clinicians
- GPs
- State Hospitals/NHS
- Private hospitals
- Pathology Labs
- General Health care
First and foremost it is, we believe, the only current IVD (in vitro diagnostic) product that is fully regulatory compliant with all current health and safety regulations that ensure the health and safety of the patient, and the professional medical staff. Amongst others the Midstream also offers:
General savings and financial benefits of the Whiz Midstream
It should not be avoided that today costs are an issue. No one doubts that there is a substantial cost for every urine test, A figure of £28.50 is an accepted figure taking into account direct consumables and associated costs. Not included would be the costs of inappropriate anti-biotics or other health care associated costs, litigation or malpractise suits which could run to £100,000 let alone the loss to the patient. Also to be considered is the damage to the practioner involved in such a case of working or supplying equipment contrary to Regulations which could mean a loss of a job, wasted training etc etc.
Indeed in ante-natal, the human cost is far higher, as in the case of a fatality or major health implication as can so easily occurred in ante-natal cases where a UTI is not detected or the catching of issues of cross infection due to urine contamination
The reduction in the number of re-tests and associated costs create considerable financial benefits to the healthcare provider. The potential savings to the NHS on microbiological samples alone would be a minimum of £23 million**, with total savings of some £40-80 million. Individually, savings could be from a minimum of £1.28 to £8.00 per test (from areas where contamination is known to be as high as 56%) after deducting the cost of the device. Further financial benefits such as general hospital expenditure are not included.
Hospitals
Direct Benefits: Lower staff costs in collection centres. Lower cleaning costs in both time and materials. Lower contamination rates mean: less time spent on microscopy, fewer full cultures, fewer direct sensitivity tests, less time spent analysing results. Fewer false positives. Better detection of UTIs. Less coldroom and bench space required. Faster, more accurate service. Greater competitive edge.
Patient benefits
- Significantly better results and therefore signifcantly better healthcare
- Preference and convenience – Substantial majority of patients preferred Whiz Midstream to conventional techniques
- Less messy, less hassle and less complicated
- No need to stop/start
- 70.39%* first time users rated Midstream improvement over conventional method, 100 % of second time users
General healthcare benefits
- Standardisation of mid-stream urine collection
- Improved working environment for staff
- Adherence to BSOP41 and COSSH Guidelines
- Removal of dependence on the patient to provide a good MSU
- Represents best medical practice
General Practitioners
- Cost Saving
- Better Service
- More Accurate Diagnosis
Comments by patients
- “No uncomfortable pauses or wet hands”
- “Clean and simple”
- “Easy… very practical”
- “No weeing on hands and down bottle”
- “Why don’t doctor’s surgeries use these?”
- “No mess, no spillages, no stop and start”
Use of the Whiz Midstream could not be simpler and more hygienic – it collects the sample automatically and independent of the patient allowing for a completely clinically accurate specimen. Being automatic it collects without interrupting the flow, which is the Standard Operating procedure – and an essential one – for the mid stream sample. And being automatic it standardises collection procedure – which is critical to ensure that diagnosis does not vary from place to place due to non standard manual decisions – i.e. a women may not collect a mid stream as she starts and stops or waits too long or begins to collect too quickly the mid stream.
There are simple instructions are on the packaging of each product. All you do is attach the sample bottle, hold the Midstream comfortably against the body, and wee normally. Nature and gravity and the Midstream do the rest.
Female Usage:
Male Usage:
As the experts wrote: “The urine collection device employed is not simply a funnel, but incorporates a flow-sensitive sampling channel and diverter which, using urodynamic principles, excludes the initial low-flow portion of the urine stream, thus discarding the contaminated early stream volume and automatically collects the volume without interruption of the stream.” * Jackson et al, BJU Int., Aug, 2005.
As there is no spillage or over-fill, neither the patient nor the staff member handling the sample experience wet hands, wet clothes or soiled bottles. It is the most efficient MSU collector available and the only one that complies with many regulations regarding the correct collection procedure for mid stream urine ie to collect without interrupting the flow, the correct worldwide regulations on the ‘Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSSH) regulations and many other standard regulations around the world regarding patient safety, staff safety including that of the correct devices.
Download Whiz Midstream Instruction Pdf – For Female Use
Download Whiz Midstream Instruction Pdf – For Male Use
Technical Specification Sheet – Available on Request
We are frequently asked to provide data for the adoption of the Whiz Midstream by nurses, health specialists, procurement officers, GP’s, financial managers, clinicians etc. With their input we have developed a pro forma procurement checklist and set out their comments and evaluations in separate sections. There are certain pre-requisities for the evaluation and or adoption of any IVD device by health care authorities – that is:
- Regulatory approval
- Clinical efficacy – does the product do what it is supposed to do
- Patient and clinicians acceptance
- Value for money – although some authorities still cling to the belief
- Patient, staff and clinician safety including medico legal issues
We have divided Patient, staff and clinician safety into the following categories:
1. Regulatory approval EU: CE Mark; USA: FDA approval:
2. Regulatory and/or Mandatory Compliance Factors
3. Professional regulatory and National Guidelines regarding Professional Codes of Conduct
4. User (clinician and Patient) Evaluation, Input and Preference:
5. Efficiency
6. Pricing
7. Value and Economic Arguments
8. Risk Assessment
9. Use and methodology of use
Pro-forma documentation available on request.
The Whiz Midstream is a midstream urine sample collection device, designed and clinically proven to make urine sample collection automatic, patient and staff independent, delivering a clinically proven, significantly superior and more accurate sample, which is collected more hygienically, easier, cleaner, faster and cheaper than anything currently available.
It is “not simply a funnel, but incorporates a flow-sensitive channel and diverter that, using urodynamic principles, excludes the initial low-flow portion of the urinary stream, thus discarding the contaminated early stream volume, and automatically collects the midstream volume without interrupting the stream.”
The Whiz Midstream is a leap forward in technology and product design. While the equipment for the analysis of urine has improved dramtically the last 100 years, the method of collection has not changed. A fast modern machine is rendered useless if the quality of the sample is poor. And currently urine samples have a high inherent contamination rate as high as 56% amongst GP’s collected samples (Garcia et al). In large scale trials the Cleancatch has reduced this to 34%.
CLINICAL BENEFITS OF THE WHIZ MIDSTREAM:
SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCES:
- General contamination in GP’s surgeries by 73%****
- Heavy mixed growth by 60%*
- General contamination by 31%*
- Urine spillage by 41%*
- Re–test rates by 28%*
IMPROVES:
- Identification of UTIs by 6%*
- Number of clinically non-significant cultures by 5%*
- Quality of sample
- Accuracy of diagnosis
- Staff working conditions and practices
SATISFIED CLINICAL PROFESSIONALS
- It greatly reduces contact with urine
- No time consuming instruction need to be given
- Confidence in urine sample, whether given at home or in presence of doctor/nurse
- Standardises urine collection practice
PUBLIC & PRIVATE FINANCIAL BENEFITS OF THE MIDSTREAM:
The reduction in the number of re-tests and associated costs create considerable financial benefits to the healthcare provider. The potential savings to the NHS on microbiological samples alone would be a minimum of £23 million**, with total savings of some £40-60 million p.a. Whiting et al 2006 – a major NHS cost study gives (p.116) the cost of a urine test at £25.00 in GP environment and £100 plus in a hospital environment. At national average contamination rates of 31% and at a clinically proven 4% Whiz rate, this is a minimum saving of £15.84 per test from GP’s and £93.84 per test in the hospital environment when paying £1.12 per unit for the Midstream and only 7p for the non-sterile universal. *****
The Midstream results in lower staff costs in collection centres. Lower cleaning costs in both time and materials. Lower contamination rates mean: less time spent on microscopy, fewer full cultures, fewer direct sensitivity tests, less time spent analysing results. Fewer false positives. Better detection of UTIs. Less coldroom and bench space required. Faster, more accurate services.
REFERENCES:
* “A novel midstream urine collection device reduces contamination rates in urine cultures amongst women” Jackson et al – BJU Int. August 2005, 96 pp 360-364
** University of Oxford, Said Business School Health Economic Model – MBA Programme
*** Failure to comply could lead to medico/legal action. In 2003 the NHS paid £450M in claims and currently holds a provision of £8B for future claims. Professor Sir Ara Darzi – Synaptiq
**** “Improving the quality of mid-stream urine samples with a collection device” Dryden et al – Poster (ICAAC Program Committee Award), ICAAC Sept 2007, Chicago.
***** “Department of Health, Centre for Evidence based Purchasing Report #07004”, January 2008
In April 2005 the Whiz Midstream was jointly awarded NHS contract for supply of MSU devices:
100 units per carton
Whiz Midstream with Sample Bottle (without Boric Acid)
Whiz Midstream with Sample Bottle (with Boric Acid)
NHS Order Codes
Ref: JUCD Ref: FSW243
Ref: JUCDB Ref: FSW244
Women can use the Whiz Midstream at home. This is particularly useful for pregnant women and/or women who need or would prefer to take samples at home rather than in a clinic.
10 Whiz Midstream with Sample Bottle (without Boric Acid)
1 Whiz Midstream with Sample Bottle (without Boric Acid)*
Ref: CC10
Ref: CC1
* Only available when ordered with a Whiz Freedom (www.whizaway.com)
Our Customer Testimonials
100 percent of all medical staff who have used the Midstream recommend it. Below some written comments from formal trials:
“Use of the device represents best medical practice and the significant benefits resulting there from, cannot be ignored.”
“The Whiz Midstream is highly attractive to clinician and patient alike; it significantly lowered contamination rates and hence the need to repeat urinalysis. My patients were pleased to use this simple and hygienic device.”
“My patients benefited from using the Whiz, it was easier to use than our current methods and for the staff it was an effective way of saving time.”
“As a physiotherapy physican I have found that many women cannot use their pelvic floor muscles and would therefore be unable to do an efficient mid-stream sample of urine, this new device will be greeted with great glee by them – no more wet hands, no more wadding through puddles. Have I tried it? I most certainly have and as a person who is known to have frustrations with a a great many devices I found it a cinch – isnt it great to have good news to share?”