More Hospitals Taking Advantage of Germ-Eliminating Technology

Sales of Lumalier's infection prevention technology, TRU-D SmartUVC, grew exponentially in 2013, with a 52 percent increase over 2012 according to the company. Much of that growth can be attributed to increased interest from hospital leaders who are recognizing TRU-D's proven capabilities, including the prevention of dangerous healthcare-associated infections and the robot's ability to halt outbreaks, as well as substantial cost savings for hospitals and patients.

TRU-D's popularity can also be attributed to rising interest from epidemiologists and the use of the device to conduct independent research on hospital environments and infection prevention. There have now been more than 10 independent studies published in esteemed scientific journals using TRU-D, including an ongoing $2 million study funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)'s Epicenter Program, which is taking place at Duke University and the University of North Carolina, among other hospitals. The CDC's conclusive report is expected to be released in 2014.

"Since TRU-D entered the market in 2007, we've seen more health care leaders shift their focus from being reactive to proactive when it comes to infection control," says Chuck Dunn, president and CEO of Lumalier. "With this year's launch of the intuitive iTRU-D, we are expanding our focus to stay ahead of hospitals' needs and provide innovative technology that allows them to not only prevent infectious outbreaks, but also track and utilize the data to study trends within their facility."

iTRU-D, which was first rolled out with a five-device deployment at Georgia Regents Health System in Augusta, Ga., is a cloud-based data tracking software that now comes standard on TRU-D's new iPad Mini remote. Hospital staff can operate, monitor and manage TRU-D while simultaneously and automatically uploading disinfection data.
"Disinfection of critical high touch surfaces hasn't always been top of mind within health care settings, but we've seen a huge boost in interest for our proven technology," Dunn said. "We believe it's becoming a standard of care within the industry, and that can be attributed to the proactive efforts of housekeeping directors at hospitals that have deployed TRU-D."

Some of the hospitals that have added TRU-D to their patient safety arsenals in 2013 include National Institutes of Health, Tufts Medical Center, Carolinas Medical Center, and numerous VA Medical Centers.  Additionally, several hospital systems that already owned TRU-D purchased additional units, adding to their system-wide fleets. One such hospital was Leigh High Valley Health Network, which added TRU-D No. 6 and No. 7 in 2013 and now deploys the largest fleet of TRU-D's across the country to proactively combat superbugs and provide the best possible patient care available. Due to the increased demand for TRU-D, Lumalier has expanded its sales force, aggressively adding team members in 2013. The company expects 2014 to surpass 2013 in TRU-D deploys as well as other milestones.

Source: Lumalier