Q-NRG+ uses indirect calorimetry (IC) technology to measure a patient’s calorie needs or resting energy expenditure (REE). Together, those readings can be used to inform prescription and administration of nutrition therapy, including parenteral nutrition (PN), which is the intravenous administration of nutrients.
Through the partnership between the two companies, Baxter has the rights to bring Q-NRG+ to at least 18 markets around the world, with more expansion potentially on the horizon. The device is already available in 12 countries in Europe, along with Canada, Australia and New Zealand. According to a news release, Baxter intends to make Q-NRG+ available in the U.S. at the Aspen 2020 Nutrition Science & Practice Conference between March 28 and March 31.
Q-NRG+ is designed in a compact, portable fashion to move easily between patient rooms, enabling flexibility and hospital efficiency. It can test adult and pediatric patients, along with spontaneously breathing or mechanically ventilated patients, plus it calibrates between uses and doesn’t take long to warm up.
The device is indicated for measuring REE in spontaneously breathing patients who weigh more than 33 pounds when using a canopy and spontaneously breathing patients older than six who weigh more than 22 pounds when using a face mask. It is also indicated for use with ventilated subjects older than 10 and weighing more than 22 pounds.
“It can be challenging to prescribe clinical nutrition without knowing the exact caloric needs of a patient,” Baxter GM of U.S. hospital products Heather Knight said in the news release. “With Q-NRG+, clinicians will have access to the latest technology to accurately measure energy requirements and won’t have to rely on predictive equations or dated technology — which can be cumbersome and time-consuming.”
