Penblade, Inc

The PenBlade Safety Scalpel Scalpel injuries continue to be a significant problem in the healthcare setting due to low adoption of safety scalpels, which have largely been rejected, due to a myriad of design problems: cumbersome blade activation, lack of user friendliness, lack of ambidexterity, a tendency to bend, low weight, balance issues, grip problems, poor line of sight, and ironically, lack of safety. The need for greater innovation and variety in safety scalpel designs has been a prominent theme in medical literature. PenBlade, Inc. has created a novel safety scalpel that is intuitive, ergonomic, and rigid. PenBlade is a safety scalpel with unique features: the suture-trimming groove, which both improves safety and can eliminate the need for suture-trimming scissors; and semi-passive retraction, which automatically retracts the blade when the button is released. These features increase the likelihood of blade retraction when passing or placing in a tray. The PenBlade design allows muscle memory (i.e, that of a click pen) to play a role in both intuitiveness and safety.