Hospital acquired infections continue to be a major source of patient morbidities. Hand washing guidelines, ubiquitously available alcohol sanitizers, and keeping patients away from each other has helped reduce the spread of nosocomial infections. Nevertheless, much more needs to be done to prevent hospitals themselves from being vectors that spread infections that walk through their doors.
A spin-off of the University of Leeds in the U.K., called Surfaceskins, has developed a textile material that releases alcohol onto its surface any time someone touches it. The technology has been implemented in the form of pushpads that can be stuck onto push-activated in-hospital doors, helping to prevent microorganisms from taking a ride from one area to another.
Surfaceskins pushpads have tiny bubbles on their surface that are filled with an alcohol gel. When someone presses against a pad, the contact force squeezes the bubbles and forces the gel inside of them to the surface. This disinfects the area where the pad has been touched, helping to prevent any infection that was left on the pad from passing to the next person.
Researchers at the University of Leeds have recently completed a study evaluating the technology’s benefits compared to traditional metal door plates. They had people whose hands were purposefully infected with Staphylococcus aureus, Eschericia coli, Enterococcus faecalis, or Clostridium difficile bacteria press against the two types of door plates. The investigators showed that the surfaces of the Surfaceskins plates were considerably cleaner, in terms of bacterial counts, than traditional aluminum metal plates.
While the new technology helps to alleviate doors from being a pathway for infections to spread, it does not clean the hands nor reduce the need to use existing hand washing procedures. Additionally, the Sufraceskins pads are intended to be used for no more than a week nor for more than 1,000 pushes.
Study in The Journal of Hospital Infection: The potential of alcohol release doorplates to reduce surface contamination during hand contact…
Link: Surfaceskins homepage…
Via: University of Leeds…