Tru-D SmartUVC is the newest member of Vancouver General Hospital (VGH)'s housekeeping and infection control teams.
Tru-D SmartUVC, or "Trudi" as staff affectionately call her, is a superbug-slaying robot being piloted at VGH. The machine disinfects surfaces with a measured dose of ultraviolet (UV) light to kill pathogens such as norovirus, influenza, C. difficile, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE).
"We are always on a mission to find new and improved ways to protect our patients from superbugs," says Dr. Elizabeth Bryce, regional medical director of infection control/medical microbiologist. "This is shaping up to be a worse than average season for norovirus and the flu, and using UV light disinfection devices allows us to help contain outbreaks in our facilities."
VGH is the first hospital in Canada to use the Tru-D device. Tru-D will complement traditional, manual cleaning, taking infection control to a new level. ARAMARK Healthcare, Vancouver Coastal Health's contracted cleaning company, will train staff to operate the machine.
"We selected Tru-D for its proven performance and ability to destroy superbugs," says David Carpenter, president of ARAMARK Healthcare. "We are at the leading edge of innovative infection prevention practices in Canada, our training, technology, cleaning products and quality assurance processes are designed to work in close coordination with our hospital partner's infection prevention teams."
The cost of the pilot program is being funded from internal Innovation Funds and in-kind contributions.
VCH is responsible for the delivery of $3 billion in community, hospital and residential care to more than one million people in communities including Richmond, Vancouver, the North Shore, Sunshine Coast, Sea to Sky corridor, Powell River, Bella Bella and Bella Coola.
Tru-D SmartUVC eliminates human error associated with "blind dose guessing" on lamp emission energy or multiple device positioning in an attempt to target area configuration dynamics. Performance validated with numerous independent scientific studies conducted by leading infection control authorities. For information about Tru-D SmartUVC, visit
