June 25, 1999

Joanie O'Donnell, RN, is a problem solver. When faced with a dilemma that can sometimes hinder patient care in the MGH Interventional Radiology suite, she was determined to find a solution. Because of her creativity and resolve, O'Donnell now has the unofficial title of inventor.

Before joining the MGH Neuro Intensive Care Unit in June 1998, O'Donnell had worked for three years with the MGH Interventional Radiology team on Bigelow 2 as a certified neuroscience registered nurse. She helped the team in treating patients with brain aneurysms, arterial venous malformations (AVMs) and spinal cord abnormalities. In addition to her regular nursing duties, O'Donnell was responsible for monitoring the four to six IV solution bags that a patient requires.

Each IV solution has a mixture of normal saline and the blood-thinning agent heparin to prevent blood clots when the interventional radiologist threads a catheter into a patient's brain or spinal column. The solutions must be dripping at all times and at different rates to prevent a clot from forming, which could result in a potential embolic stroke for a patient. The solutions also must be monitored for potential air bubbles that might develop in the tubing, which could lead to a life-threatening air embolus.

A difficult task for any one person to do, the constant monitoring is made even more difficult by the dimmed lighting required for the fluoroscopy that monitors many invasive radiology procedures. Because the solution flow is difficult to see in low light, O'Donnell had to stand guard at the IV pole and audibly say the word "drip" to let the radiologist know how fast or slow the solution was flowing.

O'Donnell was determined to find a better way to perform the problematic monitoring task. "I really felt that these patients' lives were in my hands," she says. "If a drip stopped and you weren't sure for how long, the team would have to end the procedure to avoid any clotting. There just had to be a better way to monitor the IVs."

At first, O'Donnell's solution was to tape flashlights to the end of the procedure table. Because procedures could last up to eight hours, however, either the bulbs would burn out, the batteries would run low or the flashlights would fall to the floor if the table was moved.

Frustrated by this low-tech solution, O'Donnell sketched a drawing of an ideal IV pole with a light bar that illuminated the IV drip chambers. She presented the drawing to a colleague who is a design engineer, and together they created the first-ever illuminated IV chamber called the "IV Illuminator."

According to O'Donnell, because the new invention lights up all of the IV bags simultaneously, it allows everyone on the interventional team to monitor the IV drips, freeing up O'Donnell to attend to other duties. "Using the IV Illuminator created a more collaborative environment for the whole team," says O'Donnell.

Joanie O'Donnell, RN, with the "IV Illuminator."

Gone are the days of changing batteries in flashlights — the IV Illuminator is charged by a power box that lasts up to 5,000 hours. And because the IV Illuminator uses fiber-optic lighting, there is no glare. The lights also have color lenses to differentiate the solution bags according to the purpose of the catheter.

As a new inventor, O'Donnell now is in the process of getting the IV Illuminator patented, which will allow commercial distribution. In the meantime, the MGH is using a prototype of the IV Illuminator, and O'Donnell has requests from hospitals and health centers around the country for her invention.