The EZ-IO® Intraosseous Infusion System, sold by Vidacare

A device co-invented by Biomedical Engineering Professor Kyriacos Athanasiou is helping to save lives in Haiti’s cholera epidemic. The EZ-IO kit, marketed by Vidacare Corporation, is a drill that helps health care personnel to insert IV lines directly into the bones of people who are too severely dehydrated or undergoing shock to access a vein. Normally in those patients intravenous access is almost impossible.  The company donated some of the intraosseous kits to a charity that has been involved in relief work following Haiti’s earthquake and cholera epidemic. Reports from the field in Haiti indicate that the device has been saving lives of young and old alike.

“It is exceptionally rewarding to know that our work and our ideas are actually saving lives, especially in the context of the profound tragedy in Haiti.  The fact that we can contribute directly to helping toward the medical needs of these long-suffering people is heart-warming,” says Prof. Athanasiou.