Lowell (Mass.) GeneralHospital employed robots that disinfect operating rooms and noted a 46 percent decrease in rates of surgical site infections, according to the research. They used Xenex Disinfection Services’ Germ-Zapping Robots model. The robots use ultraviolet light disinfection to eliminate pathogenic bacteria that could result in infection in hospital environments.
“This is the seventh facility to report, in a peer-reviewed study, a dramatic decrease in its infection rates after using our pulsed xenon UV disinfection system to destroy pathogens that can pose a risk to patients,” said Mark Stibich, MD, chief scientific officer and co-founder of Xenex. “Our robots work quickly and efficiently, which enables hospital EVS to run them consistently — and enhance patient safety by destroying the microorganisms that could cause infections.”
The study looked at data across 13 operating rooms from April 2013 to December 2014. After a standard chemical-based cleaning was administered, the researchers simultaneously ran two of the robots in the rooms, resulting in the decline in infection rates, according to the paper.
More articles on infection control:
Finally: evidence-based best practices for utilizing UV disinfection to stop hospital acquired infections
Xenex debuts UV disinfection robot with shorter, 4-minute cycle
LightStrike Germ-Zapping robots destroy superbugs before they harm hospital patients
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