The Best Infection Prevention Technologies

Do you ever wonder how hospitals and businesses keep us safe from contagious diseases and pests on a daily basis? This article investigates the infection prevention systems that accomplish precisely that.

Hospital infections are one of the most serious hazards in a healthcare environment. It’s become evident, especially during COVID-19, that hospital-related infections are a major fatality. After all, being infected with a virus while already immunocompromised, like after surgery, is no picnic.

This, combined with the possibility of sepsis, are a major concern in a clinical context. This is why infection prevention technologies have received such high importance in recent decades.

The same is true outside of hospitals – prevention is essential everywhere we go. In this post, we intend to explain some of the key infection prevention approaches that are presently being researched and applied. Continue reading to learn more…

1) UV Disinfection using Pulsed Light

DDC Dolphin works relentlessly to protect “vulnerable patients, care home residents, and frontline doctors in hospitals and care institutions throughout the world from infectious disease risk.” Pulsed UV Disinfection is the first item on their list of infection prevention technologies.

This is a piece of equipment that generates high-intensity ultraviolet radiation termed UV-C, which goes through bacterial cell walls. This implies that it has the ability to reach every microbe in the body, damaging nucleic acids and disrupting DNA. UV-C either kills or inactivates the microbe, limiting its reproduction without the same margin for mistake as human intervention.

It has no long-term effect on the body, therefore everyone who comes into touch with it, even physicians and clinicians, will not become ill. It is also quite straightforward to carry out and takes up minimal room.

2) Air Purifier

As the fast spread of the COVID-19 virus has demonstrated, infectious microorganisms cannot always be recognized with the human eye. So, one major sign of a possible threat is the scent, which should raise red flags for everybody.

Masking the scent is one method of reducing the stink, but it does not eliminate the threat, which is where air purifiers come in. They eliminate contaminants at the source by integrating UV technology, photo plasma and ozone, and negative ions.

Although it may appear to be incredibly high-tech, these types of technology are already in use in washrooms and bathrooms throughout the world.

3) The Fogging Machine

Fogging equipment is beneficial in big healthcare environments where outbreaks are more likely. They cover diseased sites with liquid droplets, allowing them to reach locations that would otherwise be inaccessible. As a result, these droplets have the ability to destroy:

• Influenza
• Coli
• Dificile
• MRSA
• Norovirus

4) Maceration

In a separate context, maceration is an effective approach to dispose of trash, such as human waste, without contaminating the environment or people. It is made up of a succession of blades that pulverize both the waste and the container. The sludge is subsequently discharged into the regular sewage system.

This is a sanitary technique of disposing of human waste, thanks to disinfection technology and antimicrobial coatings.

5) Sanitizers

Sanitizers are one way that we are all too acquainted within this day and age. Hand sanitizers and surface disinfectants are both handy and effective. They can keep hospital infections from spreading to the general public, professionals, and patients.

6) Cleaning Monitoring Technologies 

It is not always feasible to clean a space or simply a surface correctly, whether owing to human mistakes or incapability. Cleaning monitoring technologies come in helpful in this situation.

Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) levels and fluorescent markers, for example, are excellent indicators of human hygiene adequacy. Markers can be applied on surfaces before cleaning, and any missed locations can be identified afterward using a black light.

7) Robots that clean rooms

As we’ve seen, human error may play a role in infection control. In this area, robots may be able to outperform humans.

In fact, disinfection equipment is currently used more frequently than ever following manual cleaning to ensure that it is completely effective. These machines employ hydrogen peroxide (HP) or UV-light emitting machines to dig deeper into the filth layers and clean more completely.

These procedures are used after hospital patients have been discharged since they are hazardous to people.

8) Antimicrobial Textiles and Surfaces

Several antimicrobial fabrics and surfaces are now being tested in clinical trials, according to the International Society for Infectious Diseases. Copper has been examined the most, but there is still much more study that has to be done. Significant financial commitment is required, and “long-term development of bacterial resistance to copper is a potential issue.”

Similarly, after a lengthy period of time, many fabrics have been shown to destroy microorganisms. Scrubs and patient curtains were examined in a hospital context, with silver curtains (Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus) and quaternary ammonium impregnated provider scrubs (MRSA) yielding the greatest outcomes. However, other studies have not produced the same results, indicating that more study is required.

Is This the Only Infection Prevention Technology Available?

As you can see, there are a variety of infection prevention methods that are either being researched further or are in use.

The biggest problem with all of this is obtaining financing to continue the research. Ultimately, investing in such implementations is expected to lower total federal spending inside hospitals. However, we still have a long way to go until we uncover preventative measures that truly work.