INFECTION PREVENTION DATE OF TEST 15th October 22nd October 4th November Just after cleaning 8th November Just after cleaning 12th November
AXIENE CLEAN TOUCH Continuous treatment
<10 cfu < 0.07 cfu/cm2 <10 cfu < 0.07 cfu/cm2 10 cfu < 0.07 cfu/cm2 10 cfu 0.07 cfu/cm2 <10 cfu 0.07 cfu/cm2
EXISTING HANDLE Cleaned once per day
18,000 cfu 178 cfu/cm2
55,000 cfu 544 cfu/cm2
580 cfu 5.74 cfu/cm2 730 cfu 7.23 cfu/cm2
240,000 cfu 2,376 cfu cm2
Full handle contamination (total) Equivalent contamination per cm2
Full handle contamination (total) Equivalent contamination per cm2
Full handle contamination (total) Equivalent contamination per cm2
Full handle contamination (total) Equivalent contamination per cm2
Full handle contamination (total) Equivalent contamination per cm2
Figure 1: Recorded results from the Strathclyde University trial showing comparative bacterial counts pre- and post-cleaning on the ‘standard’ and the Axiene Clean Touch door handle. Note: cfu = colony-forming units (cultures).
is representative of any typical facility in public/multi-user service, and the findings here are expected to be representative of hygiene standards in offices, care homes, schools, and restaurants, etc. For comparison, the innovative Axiene Clean Touch system was also fitted at the Estates office. Axiene provides ongoing, active, disinfectant treatment on the touch surface of the handle to deliver continually replenished anti-bacterial protection for users. The manually cleaned handle and the Axiene hygienic handle were located on neighbouring
doors in a common corridor, ensuring that both handles would be subject to similar footfall traffic and similar use. This allowed a direct comparison of manual intermittent cleaning versus the alternative, new technology. The existing handle was subject to the normal daily cleaning process by maintenance staff, and the Axiene handle was maintained as per the product instructions, by the same staff, albeit requiring less cleaning attention.
Ian Graham explains that the Axiene product has been developed working with specialists from the NHS, universities, and industry, ‘progressing from an early-stage concept into a market-ready product’.
Start of comparison trial On 7 October 2021, the comparison trial commenced, and continued until 15 November 2021. Throughout the trial duration, swab samples of the touch surfaces on both the existing, manually cleaned handle, and the Axiene handle, were sent for analysis by an independent laboratory. This allowed a direct comparison of the surface cleanliness data from both the existing handle and the new Axiene product.
The independent assessment results demonstrated that manual intermittent cleaning provides very short-term protection only. The cleanliness of the touch surface is impacted both by any degree of human error by the cleaner, and the effectiveness of the cleaning materials used. Only occasionally did the manually cleaned handle come close to complying with the international regulations for the health and food sector, advised as a maximum limit of 5 cfu (colony-forming units) /cm2
. Directly after cleaning, and
following some use, the contamination on the handle touch surface increases drastically, with each user depositing bacteria onto the handle surface and collecting bacteria onto their own hands.
Swab tests Swab test results of the manually cleaned handle indicated a worst-case total surface colony count of up to 240,000 cfu, equating to 2,376 cfu/cm2
. As a
comparison, the active antibacterial surface treatment of the Axiene handle repeatedly and consistently returned a total surface colony count of <10 cfu
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Why is Key & Asset Management Needed? YOU ALWAYS KNOW
who removed the key and when it was taken or returned
ACCESS TO KEYS
via access code ,RFID card, biometrics
it was accessed and by whom MONITOR HOW OFTEN
to users individually DEFINE ACCESS RIGHTS
in steel cabinets or safes SECURE STORAGE
INVOKE ALERTS
in case of missing key or overdue keys
November 2022 Health Estate Journal 69
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