Chandler Regional Medical Center is one of only a few hospitals in the state using new technology to locate the placement of a peripherally inserted central catheter, or PICC line.
In the past, PICC lines were located by X-ray, but this new FDA-approved method utilizes the SapiensTM TCS by Bard Access Systems that provides real-time catheter tip location information using the patient’s cardiac electrical activity.
A PICC line replaces multiple IV lines for patients undergoing several types of infusion, including nutrition, antibiotic therapy and even some chemotherapy regimens. Chandler Regional’s team of specially trained registered nurses place an estimated 100 PICC lines each month.
PICC lines are inserted into a vein in the patient’s upper body and then advanced through increasingly larger veins toward the heart until the tip of the line rests in the desired location. The PICC team nurses perform the procedure on a variety of patients in all areas of the hospital as well as on an outpatient basis.
To learn more, visit ChandlerRegional.org.
