Hospitals using Xenex Disinfection Services’ robots are reporting infection rate reductions of more than 50 percent, according to said Dr Mark Stibich, chief scientific officer of Xenex.
“Unlike other UV disinfection systems, the Xenex robot utilizes pulsed xenon and kills C.diff spores in less than five minutes,” he said. “The robot’s five-minute disinfection cycle enables it to disinfect areas and rooms quickly so it can be used throughout the entire facility, including multi-bed wards, to enhance patient and healthcare worker safety.”
Interest in understanding the role of the operating room (OR) environment in transmission of surgical site infections (SSIs) has increased greatly in recent years. Studies have shown that standard cleaning practices leave significant levels of contamination on OR surfaces and can contribute to SSIs, the most expensive hospital acquired infection (HAI) to treat. Xenex Disinfection Services’ patented pulsed xenon Full Spectrum ultraviolet (UV) disinfection technology has been proven to quickly destroy the viruses, bacteria, mold, fungus and bacterial spores in ORs that cause SSIs.
Traditional cleaning practices leave behind dangerous pathogens such as clostridium difficile (C.diff), methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE). A study conducted at Cambridge Health Alliance, a Harvard Medical School Teaching Affiliate, demonstrated that pulsed xenon UV light disinfection can significantly decrease OR contamination. The study showed that Xenex’s robot reduced surface contamination in the OR by 81 percent, and that while between-case contamination in the OR continued to rise from case to case with standard cleaning, it was reduced to almost zero when the Xenex robot was used between cases.
“The risk of post-op infection poses a great risk to patients and healthcare facilities alike. We have proven repeatedly that hospitals using our room disinfection technology are reducing patient risk because they are destroying the microorganisms that cause infections. Most importantly, hospitals using our robots are reporting infection rate reductions of more than 50 percent as outcome studies in peer reviewed medical journals,” said Stibich. “Unlike other UV disinfection systems, the Xenex robot utilizes pulsed xenon and kills C.diff spores in less than five minutes. The robot’s five-minute disinfection cycle enables it to disinfect areas and rooms quickly so it can be used throughout the entire facility, including multi-bed wards, to enhance patient and healthcare worker safety.”
Risk Management, IT and Data Security, Dr Mark Stibich, Xenex, US
