Philips Distributes Solution for Reduction of Environmental Pathogens in Healthcare Facilities

Royal Philips Electronics announces an agreement with Lumalier Corporation to address the growing problem of microbial contamination in hospitals. At this years annual scientific meeting of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology (APIC), Lumalier will showcase Tru-D, a total-room ultraviolet (UV) disinfector, which is now available directly to customers through Philips. Tru-D is an automated, no-touch, portable UV device that helps control pathogens known to contaminate environmental surfaces. Cleaning thoroughly is at the forefront for hospitals at a time when healthcare-acquired infections (HAIs) are the most common complication of hospital care and one of the top ten leading causes of death in the United States.(1)

"Manual cleaning can be fraught with human errorespecially in hard-to-reach places," says Jeffrey Stephens, MD, professor of medicine and infectious diseases at Mercer University School of Medicine, Medical Center of Central Georgia. "The Tru-D sensor technology measures the reflected dose of UV light in order to expose and reduce the number of pathogens on visible surfaces, in primary shadows, behind and below bedrails, trays, doorknobs, IV poles and portable equipment."

Recent studies have demonstrated that environmental cleaning is often suboptimal in healthcare facilities.(2) In one study of 20,646 standardized environmental surfaces (14 types of objects), only 9,910 (48 percent) were cleaned at terminal room cleaning.(3)

"Tru-D is a simple option to help eliminate pathogens," says William Carroll Thompson, vice president of service for patient monitoring at Philips Healthcare. "As a company dedicated to simplifying healthcare, we are very pleased to bring this innovative solution to our customers and to their patients."

Tru-D uses environmentally friendly Philips high-output twin-tube UV SteriLamps®. With a 9,000-hour lamp life, they provide reliability and efficiency in addition to germicidal effectiveness.

To learn more about Tru-D, visit the Lumalier booth #1214 at the Association for Professionals in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology annual meeting in Baltimore, June 27-29.

References:

1. U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. AHRQ Home; Quality & Patient Safety; Medical Errors and Patient Safety; Healthcare-Associated Infections. Last accessed on June 8, 2011 at: http://www.ahrq.gov/qual/hais.htm

2. Nerandzic et al. BMC Infectious Diseases 2010, 10:197

http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2334/10/197

3. Carling PC, Parry MF, Von Beheren MS; Healtchcare Environmental Hygiene Study Group. Identifying opportunities to enhance environmental cleaning in 23 acute care hospitals. Infect Contol Hosp Epidemiol 2008;29:1-7