INFECTION PREVENTION AND CONTROL
The ELA unit shown
‘produces fresh, effective HOCl water in situ’.
oji emphasises the ‘protective atmosphere’ that use of its ‘air cleaning’ system can help create.
produces extremely small droplet sizes, and the droplets created will not the sink into and wet surfaces. The disinfecting effect of surfaces is due to the gas-based (diffusion-based) nature of the distributed disinfectant. Therefore, aerosolised aqueous HOCl solutions do not present a hazard for indoor surfaces or electronics, or indeed HVAC systems. oji active air technology can be installed on any type or size of ventilation system in a matter of a day, and at very low cost. The aerosolised product does not leave any residue on surfaces, or react with surfaces in the building. The HOCl concentration is extremely small – in fact just sufficient to eliminate viruses and bacteria within seconds.
What are the benefits for the hospital? Proactive facility management harnessing novel ventilation concepts can become an important contributor to future infection prevention and control. The importance of our results is two-fold: n Infection prevention: HOCl-laden air may offer a safe, low-cost, and efficient way to secure an effectively pathogen-free atmosphere. In facilities using the technology the threat posed by infected people spreading the virus among individuals would be contained effectively. As part of the hospital’s hygiene and infection prevention and control strategy, oji active air would reduce the need for manual, sporadic surface disinfection, and help minimise any ‘downtime’ resulting from implementing other disinfection methodologies. n Slowing disease progression: HOCl-enriched air has the potential to contain or even invert the progress of disease by attacking mucosa-adsorbed viruses during the incubation phase. As a result, the ventilated and HOCl- treated atmosphere within the healthcare facility could offer a seamless disease containment function, speeding patient healing, and in some cases even obviating the need for the use of antibiotics. Today, any microbial ingress will only be partly contained with incumbent safety measures. We have confirmed our theory about the powerful disinfecting ability of
98 Health Estate Journal October 2022
HOCl-laden air, while a number of peer- reviewed studies (e.g. Rai, Ashok, and Akondi 2020; Lapenna and Cuccurullo. 1996; Mohapatra and Wexler. 2009) have demonstrated that the technology is safe to use in populated indoor environments at the investigated concentration levels.
Wide-ranging applications The potential of HOCl-laden atmospheres to convert populated indoor areas into infection-protected environments points way beyond COVID-related applications. Our reported results and ongoing laboratory and field tests in large office buildings suggest the use of HOCl-based room air decontamination counters the need for high air exchange rates for infection control – potentially affording the opportunity for significant energy savings. The HOCl air cleaning technology is safe, cost-effective, and easy to install and maintain.
Other applications in healthcare The importance of disinfection using HOCl is increasing, particularly due to the appearance of increasingly resistant microbes, from flaviviruses to highly invasive forms of everyday Candida yeasts. Environmental hygiene, disinfection, and food safety/hygiene will hopefully benefit indirectly from the increased research. The microbes investigated in our trials
(Gram-positive, Gram-negative bacteria, and Vaccinia virus) can be understood as a general model for infectious particles, including enveloped viruses (to which Coronavirus belongs). Those using aerosolised aqueous HOCl solutions with a droplet diameter of under 10 µm should see no corrosive or negative effect on surfaces or electronics, meaning the results we have seen make the technology directly applicable as a real-world indoor air disinfection solution. These early results suggest that HOCl based in-air cleaning should be further evaluated. Due to the broad operating window of HOCl between effective and safe concentration levels, it may present a valuable addition to existing infection control processes such as ventilation, air filter systems, and personal hygiene protection.
Dr Thomas Bone-Winkel
Dr Thomas Bone-Winkel is an experienced and international manager. In 2020, he founded oji with his partner, Gundeep Singh, in Dubai. oji produces electronic lock systems (oji smart, GCC) and continuous disinfection systems (oji life, Europe). He served as MD of a Chinese investment group from 2016-2020, while between 2013 and 2016, he was CFO of German live entertainment company, Apassionata. He has a solid banking background, acquired in the private equity and structured finance business of ABN AMRO Bank. As head of the Bank’s German Structure Finance activities, he was responsible for private equity, cross-border tax-driven financing structures, and structured debt/equity transactions in Europe, the Americas, and Asia. He also has an accounting background acquired at Peat Marwick (today KPMG), having specialised in international tax and financing from 1992 through 1997. A Certified Public Accountant (United States), he holds a Master’s degree in taxation from Cologne University, and a Doctor’s degree in international tax from Göttingen University.
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