IUVA to Present Panel Discussion on Ultraviolet Disinfection

The International Ultraviolet Association will present a panel discussion on the fast developing new applications of ultraviolet technology for the disinfection of healthcare settings as part of its World Congress being held in Las Vegas this fall. 

"This presentation is probably one of the first ever on this subject held at an international meeting of engineering and industry professionals," says Deb Martinez, executive director of IUVA.
 
The panel discussion will be held from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Sept. 21 at the Mirage Hotel. 

Co-chairs of the panel will be Peter E. Gordon, senior partner, Germgard Lighting, LLC, and Mary Clancy, president and CEO of Secure Environmental Health Interiors, LLC.
 
Participants on the panel will include: Shelly Miller, PhD, from the University of Colorado at Boulder; Cheryl Perkins, founder and president of Innovationedge; Richard Vincent, environmental health and research manager, Mount Sinai School of Medicine; and Jim Gabalski, vice president of marketing, North America Getinge USA, Inc.

As infection rates persist at healthcare facilities worldwide, placing patients and workers at risk, there is an increased demand for effective solutions to combat and control infectious pathogens in healthcare settings. Ultraviolet-based disinfection technologies have the potential to create cost effective products and solutions that would enable new and improved germicidal interventions.  Such approaches could sever key pathogen transmission pathways that cause infections, resulting in lower infection rates and lower healthcare costs.
 
The market for ultraviolet-based pathogen reduction technologies could grow at a rapid pace. There could also be opportunities for real-time monitoring techniques that would provide disinfection assurance data to infection prevention managers and hospital administrators.
 
The panel will address:
- How should ultraviolet disinfection be used
- What off-the-shelf technology can be utilized today
- What new technology will be required to provide effective and creative solutions
- What market opportunities will this create
- What demonstration projects and user trials will be required for adoption
- What results should the infection prevention community expect from widespread ultraviolet technology use
- What level of cooperation is required among suppliers and IUVA members in order to promote adoption

"This panel of industry experts will explore the pertinent issues associated with the use of ultraviolet technology for infection prevention, as well as the potential for this technology to lower healthcare infection rates," says Martinez.
 
The panel will be presented in conjunction with the IUVA-IOA World Congress being held at the Mirage Hotel Sept. 22-26.  Registration is available at www.iuva.org.
 
The International Ultraviolet Association comprises industry, government, academia and others worldwide who are interested and concerned with advancing the science, engineering and applications of ultraviolet technologies to enhance the quality of human life and protect the environment.
 
Source: International Ultraviolet Association