Cleaning stethoscopes and other nonsurgical devices in a hospital setting is crucial to preventing pathogen transmission between patients. However, while instruments used for invasive procedures are diligently cleaned, it is easy for items that do not come in contact with bodily fluids to be overlooked. Although the Coronavirus may have caused hygiene practices to come under scrutiny, hospitals have struggled with contaminated noninvasive instruments for years.
Unfortunately, even the most diligent medical professionals can forget to sanitize equipment that appears clean. Implementing UVC disinfection units in the medical sector can mitigate disease transmission between patients and prevent vulnerable populations from being exposed to dangerous pathogens. Hospitals should look beyond obsolete disinfection solutions and find new ways to protect patients from the dangers of contaminated medical devices.
How Hospitals Can Use a UVC Light Box to Decontaminate Shared Devices
Studies have found that healthcare professionals are likely to believe that a noninvasive item is sanitary if it appears clean. As a result, this tendency contributes significantly to the amount of pathogen transmission that occurs via cross-contamination in hospitals.
When hospital staff is operating on the misguided belief that noninvasive medical devices are “clean” unless there is physical proof to the contrary, patients are put at risk. Items such as call buttons, oxygen flow meters, stethoscopes, and blood pressure cuffs may seem innocuous but can potentially spread dangerous bacteria and viruses from patient to patient.
The Science of UV Disinfection
Each Cleanbox unit utilizes multiple LED UVC bulbs, which provide an unmatchable level of disinfection. Additionally, the LED engineering patented by Cleanbox eliminates the issues many UVC devices struggle with when sanitizing equipment, such as varying ray intensity and failing to cover the entire surface of the item being decontaminated with UVC light.
A Targeted Clean
Even though numerous types of UV cleaning boxes are readily available, not all devices offer hospital-grade disinfection. Unless a UVC unit can deliver ultraviolet C rays at the correct intensity level, for the appropriate amount of time, on the entire exterior of an object, cleanliness cannot be guaranteed. Cleanbox eliminates 99.999% of contagions in one 60-second cycle through targeted ultraviolet C rays that leave no surface or shadow untouched.
Cleanbox units produce UVC rays at the ideal intensity for disrupting the DNA and RNA inside pathogens. Once the genetic material in the pathogens has been damaged, bacteria and viruses on equipment cannot replicate. The contagions are rendered harmless to care providers and patients without the ability to reproduce. Cleanbox systems provide verifiable and science-proven disinfection, making them the perfect addition to any hospital or healthcare facility.
Contagion Elimination
To ensure that the cleaning of stethoscopes and other nonsurgical devices is completed correctly, the disinfection process must be streamlined and easy to execute. Disinfection methods in a busy hospital that take a long time or have complicated steps are more likely to be completed wrong or even skipped entirely.
Even the most overworked nurse can complete the Cleanbox sanitizing cycle since they only need to place the item being disinfected inside the Cleanbox unit and press start. These devices also make it easy to sanitize numerous items at once. Hospitals can also select from various models to find the best design that suits their needs.
The OmniClean: Cleaning Stethoscopes and Other Nonsurgical Devices
The OmniClean unit is the ideal solution for cleaning noninvasive medical equipment. This device combines LED UVC technology, numerous reflective surfaces, and a rotating quartz disc to ensure every surface is sanitized. A wide range of items can be decontaminated in the OmniClean. It even has optional reminder settings that can be used to prevent employees from forgetting to clean equipment.
The CX Series: Keeping Headsets Contagion-Free
Keeping equipment such as headsets, microphones, and VR and AR training equipment disinfected is easier than ever with the CX series. After all, protecting employees’ health is as essential as protecting the health of patients.
Hospital employees deserve to work in a safe environment, and when employees catch viruses from one another, it’s nearly impossible to keep them from spreading to patients. In addition, the CX series can clean multiple pieces of equipment in a single 60-second decontamination cycle, which is more time-efficient and cost-effective than using standard methods such as disposable wipes to clean numerous pieces of equipment.
The CleanDefense: Eliminating Viral Load on N-95 Masks
The shortage of N-95 masks during the Coronavirus pandemic resulted in healthcare providers reusing their facial masks. A significant concern with mask reuse is that bacteria can collect in the fibers, turning a protective device into a pathogen-laden hazard. The CleanDefense system was specifically designed to decontaminate triple-layered masks in only 120 seconds.
Tests completed in a Biosafety Hazard Level 3 laboratory (BSL3) found that the CleanDefense eliminates 99.999% of pathogens, including the Coronavirus, from N-95 masks. In addition to decontaminating multiple masks simultaneously, the CleanDefense system is also portable, allowing healthcare professionals to maintain safety standards regardless of location.
Prevent Unnecessary Waste
Alcohol wipes are a staple in the medical field, but they aren’t the best tool for disinfecting noninvasive surgical equipment. Using disposable alcohol wipes to clean medical equipment is costly and wasteful. In addition, it is challenging to properly decontaminate an item with a wet wipe, as it is easy to miss spots during cleaning. Finally, using wipes to clean nonsurgical devices creates excessive waste.
Cleanbox disinfectant systems save hospitals money by providing 600,000 cleans per machine. Instead of continuously purchasing alcohol wipes, hospitals can buy reusable devices that will protect the health of staff and patients for an extended time and leave no waste to be managed. The self-contained UVC units can eliminate bacteria, viruses, and fungal spores from various items without using chemicals or creating waste.
Avoid Human Error
Healthcare organizations can minimize the risk of disease transmission among staff and patients if they examine the factors contributing to device contamination. Human error is a common reason why contaminated noninvasive equipment is unknowingly used in healthcare.
Employees under intense stress are more likely to make mistakes when cleaning stethoscopes and other nonsurgical devices using outdated methods. Properly cleaning medical devices with an alcohol wipe requires time and attention to detail that many healthcare workers may be unable to provide.
Risk Mitigation
UVC light units prevent exhausted or busy employees from inadvertently hurting patients with contaminated medical equipment. In addition, this decontamination method takes the potential for error out of the employee’s hands. It creates a hygiene protocol that is equally effective no matter which employee is completing the task.
Simple Solutions for Healthcare Workers
Instead of placing the health of employees and patients at risk by using disposable wipes, hospitals can take proactive steps to avoid the risk of cross-contamination. Creating a new standard operating procedure for equipment disinfection that employs Cleanbox UVC units will protect employees and patients from the risks associated with unclean medical devices.
UVC units complete a disinfection cycle quickly enough that even the busiest care provider can find time to sanitize their equipment. The benefits of using UVC for disinfection in the medical sector are numerous. They include: a lower rate of disease transmission, decreased infection, improved employee efficiency, less physical and financial waste, and decreased liability.
To find out how hospitals are utilizing UVC light cleaners to prevent disease transmission and streamline hygiene protocol, contact Cleanbox Technology. Creating a safer healthcare environment can be as simple as pushing a button.
