by Shane Henson — February 7, 2014—As hospitals across the nation look for new and innovative ways to battle deadly pathogens and kill risky multidrug-resistant organisms, Maryland’s MedStar Franklin Square Medical Center has taken a leap into the future with a germ-zapping robot that eliminates hard-to-kill bugs in hard-to-clean places.
In recognition that even the best cleaning professionals and cleaning solutions may not be able to destroy all the harmful germs found within healthcare facilities, the Medical Center decided to use Xenex’s patented pulse xenon UV disinfection system, also known as the Xenex robot.
The Xenex robot uses pulsed xenon ultraviolet (UV-C) light that is 25,000 times more powerful than sunlight to destroy harmful bacteria, viruses, fungi, and even bacterial spores, says Xenex, a company founded to significantly reduce the number of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs).
The company adds that the system is effective against even the most dangerous pathogens, including Clostridium difficile (C. diff), norovirus, influenza, and staph bacteria, including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, better known as MRSA.
The robot can disinfect a room in minutes and is easily portable, allowing it to be used in virtually any location within the hospital. Because the Xenex robots use UV light, they are able to reach every surface in the room and do not leave a chemical residue, explains the company.
According to Xenex, each treatment takes about five minutes. To disinfect a room after standard cleaning procedures are complete, hospital team members wheel the Xenex robot into the room, position it, begin the automated sequence, and then leave the room. A sign is placed outside the room warning people not to enter while the robot is in operation, and a motion sensor on the robot automatically shuts off the machine if anyone should enter, or if motion is detected. The process is then repeated on the other side of the bed and in the bathroom, for a total of 15 minutes to thoroughly clean each room.
MedStar Franklin Square Medical Center is the first hospital in the region to implement the Xenex room disinfection system, which has been credited for helping other healthcare facilities in the United States lower their MRSA and C.diff infection rates by more than 50 percent, according to Xenex.
MedStar Franklin Square Medical Center officials say they plan to use this technology to clean all patient rooms, the emergency room (ER), and operating rooms to support their ongoing, aggressive efforts to offer their patients “the highest possible quality of care, in the safest possible environment.”
