New ToxCO monitor answers call for increased awareness of CO poisoning.

Recent reports have identified a lack of awareness among health professionals of the signs and symptoms of carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning. Bedfont Scientific Ltd, a medical device firm based in Kent, have developed a new breath monitor to help emergency medical services to diagnose CO poisoning and prevent avoidable deaths.
Bedfont’s ToxCO provides ambulance and fire services with a non-invasive analysis of carboxyhaemoglobin levels in a patient’s blood through a quick and easy to perform breath test. The hand-held, battery powered instrument is robust enough to be used on-site to ensure suspected cases of poisoning are assessed safely and immediately. Multiple patients can be screened rapidly, saving Trusts time and money by clearing those who do not require transportation to hospital. The ToxCO also has the ability to monitor unconscious patients with a facemask setting suitable for adults or children.
The ToxCO has an additional ambient monitoring function, which can be used to detect high levels of CO in the air, alerting staff to potentially dangerous exposure when dealing with patients at the scene.
On trialling the ToxCO, Mark Ainsworth-Smith, Consultant ECP at South Central Ambulance Service stated, “I have found the ToxCO product to be rugged, reliable and extremely easy to use. I really like the fact that it can be used on children with a facemask and that it can sense ambient CO levels, which is great for scene safety.”
To complement the ToxCO, Bedfont have also released the ToxCOmini, an affordable tester that gives readings in carboxyhaemoglobin ranges, ideal for screening purposes by accident and emergency departments as well as general practitioners and pharmacies. By meeting the needs of the emergency services and other health professionals, Bedfont are confident that these two products will play a major part in preventing avoidable deaths and injuries from CO poisoning. See www.bedfont.com for further information.

Contact Information

Jennifer Cole

Marketing and PR Manager

Bedfont Scientific Ltd

Contact via E-mail