CLEANROOMS & CONTAMINATION CONTROL: ROBOTICS
❱❱ The Lightstrike robot uses pulsed ultraviolet light to disinfect cleanrooms in the pharmaceutical, healthcare and other industries
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ecognising the potential of new technology for enhanced contamination control in cleanrooms where pharmaceuticals are made, Dutch
company RevDesinfectie Robots recently evaluated Xenex Disinfection Systems’ pulsed xenon ultraviolet (UV) light disinfection robots in live production cleanrooms. Following successful testing, one of the
world’s largest pharmaceutical companies purchased and deployed Xenex LightStrike Germ-Zapping Robots to decontaminate and disinfect cleanrooms in five of its facilities in the USA and Europe. More than 450 healthcare facilities
around the world use LightStrike robots for room disinfection as part of their infection prevention programme. LightStrike robots use pulsed xenon to create intense flashes of germicidal ultraviolet (UV) light that quickly destroys bacteria, viruses, mould, fungus and spores. The portable and powerful LightStrike robot disinfects rooms in four- or five-minute cycles, depending on the robot model, without warm-up or cool- down times.
VALIDATION TESTING RevDesinfectie Robots acts as the distributor of LightStrike robots in the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg (Benelux) area and it recently performed
34 /// Testing & Test Houses /// December 2019
Robots use pulsed ultraviolet light to decontaminate cleanroom spaces for the healthcare industry
extensive testing of the LightStrike robots in cleanrooms over a two-year period. First, in partnership with a global
pharmaceutical company, they conducted over 150 evaluations to confirm the decontamination effectiveness of the robot. The initial study was followed by usability testing and workflow analysis in actual production cleanrooms. The studies validated the LightStrike
robots for general cleanroom use, confirming that they were extremely effective at reducing contamination levels within the clean facilities they were tested in. Protocols for routine use were developed and analysed as well as complete cleanroom validation packages for other companies that may be interested in how the LightStrike technology might play a role in their contamination control programmes.
DISINFECTING MANUFACTURING CLEANROOMS According to Eric Hesp of RevDesinfectie Robots, during a number of years of testing, the LightStrike robot achieved outstanding
results for its ability to control common cleanroom micro-organisms while maintaining cleanroom compliance. This led to the system being adopted by a major pharmaceutical company. “We strongly believe that the LightStrike
technology is a breakthrough in the field of environmental disinfection, first in healthcare facilities and now also for non- pharmaceutical cleanroom contamination control,” says Hesp. Dr Mark Stibich, a co-founder of Xenex
and the company’s chief scientific officer, says the effectiveness that LightStrike robots have shown in destroying germs and bacteria in hospitals has been proven in numerous studies, but this is the first time the technology has been evaluated in a manufacturing environment. “The use of our technology to disinfect
such cleanrooms is an exciting validation of the LightStrike robots in a new industry. Using these robots to provide additional assurance in cleanrooms will enable pharmaceutical companies to maximise the utilisation of their facilities,” says Stibich. LightStrike robots have been studied
extensively in the hospital environment and credited in numerous published studies with helping hospitals decrease their Clostridium difficile (C.diff), Methicillin- resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and Surgical Site Infection (SSI) rates from 46 per cent to 100 per cent. T&TH
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