At the cutting edge - SUSOL nipper
The nail nipper is often the first surgical instrument the podiatrist, and foot health practitioner, reaches for. Great care is taken in choosing this tool and all clinicians will have their favourite pattern. So, when it came to designing a single use nipper, how could a single pattern be created to suit most clinicians?
Sharpest tool in the box
The first concern was the cutting edge. The Susol nipper is very sharp and users new to single use instruments often comment on how easy it is in use. In surveys carried out as part of post-market surveillance, sharpness is often top of the list in judgements on nipper performance.
All day comfort
Then came the comfort of the user. The nipper had to feel good in the hand and be comfortable to use. The blue handles are a soft grip which reduce the shock created when the nail is cut. A review of the literature at the time showed no work had been done on Repetitive Strain Injury in podiatry related to the hand or wrist. The closest published article came from a journal dedicated to electrical engineering where electricians suffered wrist pain from clipping, or nipping, electrical wires over a period of time.
Prototypes were made and tested in local NHS Trusts with the patented nipper itself being launched in 2005. It has since undergone some minor improvements to become the Susol nipper as used in clinics up and down the country.
Want to see the patented Susol nail nipper?