日刊工業新聞　2003年6月16日

注射針の安全処理装置 米損保に45万台

環境機器関連のベンチャー、ソフティックジャパン（東京都台東区、伊東資哲社長、03-5825-0662)は、米国の損害保険代理店から使用済みの注射針を数秒間で溶断する安全処理装置を45万台受注した。

米国で社会問題化している注射針の医療事故に対して、保険会社が同製品を保険契約の条件に医療機関に使用を促す。

同社はＳＡＲＳ対策で中国の医療機関にも近く１万台出荷することが決まっており、今後は国内向け販売を強化していく。

大量受注した注射針安全処理装置「Ｅ−７０（１台１４万８０００円）」は、医療機関での使用済み注射針を看護師がその場で簡単に処理することを目的に開発した。

製品はバッテリー式で、注射針を装置中心部の穴に差し込むと数秒間で針が溶解する。

プラスとマイナスの間に針を差し込み１２００度Ｃの温度で金属部分をショートさせる仕組み。

国内では類似品はない。

ソフティックは今回、米国の保険代理店、ＮＳＩフィナンシャルコーポレーションから受注した。

今後３年間で４５万台納品する契約で、ＮＳＩは米国、カナダ、メキシコの医療機関に製品を提供する。

ソフティックは今月に入って中国からも受注をしたばかりで、今後は代理店を広く募り国内の医療機関へ積極的に販売していく。

Ｅ−７０は９８年に沖データが米国向けに開発した。

しかし同社が不採算事業からの撤退を求め、同製品の製造、販売権をソフティックジャパンに譲渡した。

製造は沖電気の子会社、沖エアーフォルクに委託している。

Newspaper Cliping 16th June, 2003

Safety Processing Device for Injection Needles

450,000 units ordered by nonlife insurance agent in United States

Softic Japan Co., Ltd., (Taito ward, Tokyo, President Mr.Ito, 03-5825-0662), the venture business company of environmental device business, had got the order of 450,000 safety devices, which melt the used injection needles in a few seconds, from the nonlife insurance agent in the United States.

As the medical accidents concerning the injection needles are becoming the social problems in the United States, insurance company will urge medical institutions to use this device, making it to be the term of insurance contract to cover the insurance.

Softic Japan will also supply 10,000 units of this device to medical institutions in China in measures against SARS in near future, and then it has a plan to strengthen its sales strategy to sell more in domestic.

This safety processing device for injection needles [E-70 (148,000 yen per unit)], of which Softic had received the mass orders, has been developed with the purpose that nurses can process the used injection needles easily and extemporaneously.

This product works by battery. Just by inserting the needle into the slot in the center of device, the needle will be fused in a few seconds.

It has the structure that if insert the needle between the anode and the cathode, the metallic parts will be short at the temperature of 1,200℃.

There are no similar products in Japan.

This time, Softic had received the order from nonlife insurance agent, NSI Financial Corporation in the United States.

Softic has the contract with NSI to supply 450,000 units within 3 years, and NSI will provide the products to the medical institutions in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Softic has just received the order from China early in this month, and from now on, it has a plan to invite distribution agencies in domestic market widely and tries to sell the products to domestic medical institutes actively.

E-70 had been developed by Oki Data Corporation in 1998 for the market in the United States.

However, Oki Data Corp. had decided to quit the unprofitable business, and then Oki Data Corp. had transferred production and sales rights to Softic Japan Co., Ltd..

Production is entrusted to Oki Erfolg Co., Ltd., which is the subsidiary of Oki Electric Industry Co., Ltd.

News summary in June, 2003

Softic Japan Co., Ltd. develops environmental devices that are called E-70 by its own idea and technology.

This used injection needles melting device goes a long way toward considering the environment.

Softic Japan Co., Ltd. has started its business in July 2000 as a venture business company concerning environmental goods.

Having the management concept to 「purify the environment in which creatures and nature can co-exist」, Softic Japan has cultivated a market by developing ultrahigh-temperature heating cracker 「E-GOS 200」 that disposes infectious radioactive wastes, 「ultrahigh temperature afterburner muffler」 that makes exhaust gases to be nonpolluting one, 「small special incinerator for paper diaper」 that sterilizes used paper diapers, which are disposed by nursing home, by high-temperature, and so on by its own idea and technology.

There are so many needle stick accidents when nurses dispose the used injection needles. The development of this device is the good news for medical workers who are aware of risks of secondary infection.

The Ministry of the Environment has recently decided that the used surgical knives and injection needles from medical organizations should be one of the waste disposals.

Used injection needles have been specified to be the infectious disposals, but there is a fact that these disposals are disposed as normal trash at medical institutions. The correspondence of the Ministry of the Environment aims to deal with the disposition of wastes strictly in order to protect successive medical accidents and illegal dumping by establishing the standard for waste disposals.

E-70 disposes of used injection needles easily and immediately.

E-70 had been developed for the purpose that nurses can dispose infectious needles easily.

E-70 had been designed and developed under the concept that it is not sold per medical institute, but it is sold to each individual nurses.

This product is handy type whose weight is 5.5 Kgs in order for nurses to use easily. The supplying power is a battery and it takes a few seconds to melt needles (in the case of needle 23G whose length is 1 inch) after inserting them into the hole of device. If you insert needles between the positive pole and the negative pole, they will be short at 1200℃. There are no similar products in Japan.

Four rollers are equipped with double layers inside of the products. When the needle is inserted, switch is automatically on, and revolving of rollers rolls up the needles. Upper roller is the electrode, so when insert needles, they are short and become the metal powder.

Usually, the repeat of short makes rollers burnt in this structure and the device may not stand long use. Softic Japan Co., Ltd. has solved these problems as follows:

1) to use special materials for rollers

2) to attach another roller that has a groove at bottom side, which removes metal powder in order to prevent rollers to be worn-out by the ground powder of needles.

The part of electrode has been applied for patent. The part of rollers is composed unit by unit and if it is worn out, it can be changed unit by unit.

Regardless of the kinds of needles, this device can dispose every kind of injection needles from 18G to 27G.

It can be carried wherever nurses go because it is portable type with a built-in battery.

When you use it as a portable device, there is no remarkable point to notice except battery charging before use.

It takes 24 hours to charge the battery at first use, and from the second use, you just charge battery after use during nighttime then you can use it in the next morning.

About 400 injection needles can be disposed on one battery charge.

It is necessary to charge battery when the green lamp is off.

When you use it fixedly, you can just charge battery directly by using adaptor.

The device cannot be used without inserting dust box that collects scrap of needles, and it is safely designed to melt needles by remaining few MM from the syringe itself so as not to melt the plastic part of syringe.

When you melt needles with blood, strange odor is sent out, but deodorant filter is normally equipped with this device in order to prevent strange odor.

The device has one-year guarantee and all maintenance is done by Softic Japan Co., Ltd.

The structure to melt needles is very simple, but it is not easily imitated. Most parts inside are made by our own specifications except switch and motor, which are on the market.

The mold costs one hundred million yen, and the frame of device is made of aluminum die cast to comply with U.S. standard. The sales price (retail price) is fixed at 148,000 yen per unit, and president of Mr. Ito assures that even if somebody wants to imitate this product, the cost is higher than the sales price, so it would not meet the cost.

Supplied to 61 countries in the world

The products, E-70 were supplied to the Ministries of the Foreign Affairs in 61 countries all over the world through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, but no trouble regarding to this device has been reported up to now.

So many devices have been supplied to domestic medical users, and Softic Japan had got the opinion from users that if they start to use this device, they cannot dispose injection needles without this device.

Oki Data Corp. had developed E-70 for the market in America in 1998. When president, Mr. Ito was engaged in Oki Electric Co., Ltd., U.S. leading company requested Oki to develop E-70, and it was finally developed in a new business field.

As the medical infection is directly connected with the legal action, amount of indemnification for injuries will be increased.

In order to avoid these situations, insurance companies request to develop this device so as to adopt the policy to use this device as the term for medical institutions to insure.

However, as Oki Electric had decided to quit the unprofitable business, it had also given up the line of production for this product, which has no relation to its regular business. President, Mr. Ito who had resigned from Oki Electric succeeded production and sales rights of E-70 in the name of Softic Japan.

Softic Japan Co., Ltd. now entrusts Oki Erforg, which is the subsidiary company of Oki Electric, with the production of E-70.

Softic Japan Co., Ltd. has started to sale E-70 on a full scale since this spring. It received the order of 450,000 units of E-70 from U.S. leading company, with whom Oki Electric had stopped to negotiate about this business.

NSI will provide these devices to medical institutes in America, Canada and Mexico. It is also decided to supply 10,000 units of E-70 to medical institutes in China to cope with the problem of SARS. It also received inquiries from Taiwan, Korea and any other countries in Asia.

In near future, this company has a plan to export the products to Philippine and Thailand.

From now on, it also has a plan to invite distribution agents in domestic market and is willing to sell these products to medical institutes.