New Technology Helps Eliminate Microorganisms in Hospitals

Healthcare-acquired infections (HAIs) are the fourth leading cause of death in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Meanwhile, evidence continues to mount that hospital cleanliness plays a role in the spread of HAIs. While hospitals have put efforts in place to prevent the spread of HAIs, very little progress has been made in actually eliminating HAIs. Several recently published studies have proven the inadequacies of cleaning practices in healthcare settings, and other studies show that such inadequacies increase the HAI risk for patients. An affordable and efficient new technology is now available to eliminate deadly microorganisms which cause HAIs including viruses, bacteria and bacterial spores from hospital rooms.

"Hospital housekeeping teams face an impossible challenge because they dont have the time, tools or resources to effectively disinfect patient rooms. And better hand hygiene and other preventative programs arent enough to battle the HAI problem," says Mark Stibich, PhD, chief scientific officer of Xenex Healthcare. "The good news is that room disinfection technology has come a long way, and its now practical and affordable to use automated disinfection systems throughout a hospital, resulting in a safer environment for patients."

Xenex Healthcare offers a fast, safe, and cost-effective method for the automated disinfection of healthcare facilities. Capable of disinfecting the surfaces in a standard hospital room in just a few minutes without disrupting hospital operations, the Xenex system is considerably faster than other automated cleaning and infection control methods, which can take multiple hours to achieve the same level of disinfection.

The Xenex system includes an easy-to-use, portable device which uses pulsed xenon UV light to quickly destroy the microorganisms on surfaces and in the air without contact or chemicals. The pulse is bright enough to saturate the room with light, including shadowed areas, and can be easily operated by a hospitals housekeeping staff. The Xenex system has been tested on a variety of the most dangerous superbugs, including Clostridium difficile endospores, in several independent labs in the U.S and internationally, and has been shown in trials to be 20 times more effective than standard cleaning practices.

"Hospitals need to protect patients by completely disinfecting the room," says Brian Cruver, CEO of Xenex. "We believe our technology should be part of the standard cleaning procedure for hospitals and surgery centers and in doing so will save the hospital time and money, and most importantly prevent infections and save patient lives."

Details about the Xenex system and its effectiveness against specific organisms are available at xenex.com or by calling (800) 553-0069.