2020-2021 HEALTHCARE PRODUCT ALL-STARS
Unfortunately, the pandemic represents a missed prevention opportunity, Neister laments. “If this technology [were] in place before the pandemic we could have saved thousands of people’s lives,” he said. “We could have protected first responders and healthcare workers by providing them with Far-UV Sterilray lamps to disinfect their PPE, the air in the room and their equipment, while tak- ing off their gear. One study found that over 46 percent of subjects self-contaminated their skin and clothes during their PPE removal. 222nm technology could have made a tre- mendous difference in attening the curve. The butterfly effect remains significant, Neister insists.
“If this technology [were] already in place before the pandemic, we would not have had to shut down our schools, our companies, or small businesses,” he noted. “Families would have been together at hospitals with their loved ones for major surgeries, births and doc- tors’ appointments. Production facilities could have been fully staffed. Public transpiration would have been safer. Restaurants could have full capacity again and public events like high school and college graduations wouldn’t have been cancelled. Disinfecting the air to protect against the air- borne coronavirus makes a great deal of sense, according to Bryan Stone, M.D., Internal Medicine & Nephrology, Chief of Medicine Emeritus for Desert Regional Medical Center, Palm Beach, CA, and member of the Board of Directors for Vystar Corp., which makes the xir V light air purification system. “Healthcare professionals as well as the general public are well aware of the usual hygiene protocols such as washing your hands, [wearing] face masks and controlling where you sneeze,” Stone said. “We all were told that this would curb airborne disease transmission. However, none of us were entirely satisfied with the results. ow we are faced with the airborne coronavirus pandemic that raises the odds and results in high rates of illness and death.”
Healthcare has been slow to adopt an approach for airborne coronavirus because healthcare experts initially linked transmis- sion to contact, according to Stone. “SARS CoV-2 traveled from Wuhan, China around the entire planet in 60 days, Stone said. “Clearly, this involved air and droplet trans- mission as hundreds of scientists stated. The transmission from surface exposure is far less important, yet millions of dollars are spent on surface disinfection that is compromised the moment an infected individual breathes, talks or coughs, leaving a cloud of pathogens waiting to be inhaled by or land in the eyes of others. Too many clinicians are forced to rely solely on PPE and surface disinfection
to protect themselves from coronavirus and other airborne pathogens.”
Clinicians, patients and consumers in gen- eral must take air disinfection more seriously, according to Stone.
“People are now paying more attention to the air in the 26,000 breaths they take each day,” he noted. “We as healthcare profes- sionals have to understand and appropriately address the airborne problem that has been in front of us. It is important to select FDA- cleared Class II medical devices that have been independently tested in FDA- and EPA- certified labs to be effective at inactivating or killing viruses and other pathogens. Untested units will not only waste money but create a false sense of security that can put people at risk. ir purifiers work in concert with traditional hygiene protocols rather than replace them.”
Stone reinforces the importance of air dis-
infection in professional and personal spaces. He shared several anecdotal testimonials from customers as examples of utility. IF BENCHED: Healthcare facilities would need to redeploy human disinfection teams that may not be able to reach the hard-to-reach nooks and crannies requiring cleaning and disinfection. Without air disinfection devices, healthcare facilities would be left with air purifiers not cleared by D as Class II medical devices but something purchased at a local retail store. It’s technology like this that helps clinicians
and administrators to do their obs and fight healthcare-acquired infections (HAIs), accord- ing to Peter Veloz, CEO, UltraViolet Devices Inc. (UVDI). “The brave men and women preventing Infections everyday on healthcare’s front lines rely on science and evidence to inform critical decisions,” Veloz indicated. “It is for them – and ultimately, the patients we all aim to protect – that we at UVDI are dedicated to the highest levels of evidence-based support for device efficacy, including Pathogen inacti- vation claims validated by independent third- party testing; testing conducted at time and distances five-minute inactivation at eight feet indicative of efficient whole room dis- infection; proven 360-degree surface coverage confirmation and peer-reviewed published clinical studies demonstrating HAI reduction. Companies like UVDI strive for such results ahead of any governmental or regulatory body standards, Veloz insists. “We take these important measures not out of regulatory compliance – as there are no consolidated EPA standards as there are for manual disinfectants – but because it is the right thing to do,” he continued. “Health- care professionals deserve credible, proven solutions to the day-to-day challenges they face. Without these voluntary initiatives to
14 January 2021 • HEALTHCARE PURCHASING NEWS •
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prove performance, the onus would be on healthcare professionals to spend precious time and resources to investigate claims or to experiment with unproven or ineffective solutions – none of which is a suitable alter- native in this or any time. We will continue to push in 2021 to raise the bar for UV device standards in science and evidence, in service of better patient outcomes.” Far UV Technologies Inc. manufactures the Krypton air and surface disinfection lighting system that serves as a countermeasure to infectious disease in occupied spaces where transmission is most likely to occur, according to P.J. Piper, President and CEO. Piper emphasizes that the Krypton disinfec- tion ceiling lights are gaining traction in the U.S. military, medical and dental facilities, airports, airplanes and buses and in schools and commercial real estate. “Hospitals and clinics are increasingly using Krypton disinfection lighting in entrances, lobbies, waiting rooms, exam rooms, operating rooms, patient rooms and ambulances to continuously reduce the viral load in those spaces, whether they have been exposed to SARS-CoV-2, the common cold or u or hospital acquired infectious diseases such as M or C difficile, Piper noted. “Social distancing, wearing masks and bet- ter hand hygiene have proven to be useful in combating the spread of COVID-19, but they apparently are not good enough alone as the disease is continuing to spread either due to human error or equipment failure. Adding Krypton Disinfection Lighting as a fourth layer of active protection can help mitigate the remaining risks.”
Wearable glucose monitor KEY SUPPLIERS: Abbott Laboratories
FIELD PERFORMANCE: Being able to test your own blood glucose levels at home without having to see a doctor was consid- ered revolutionary at the time of change for the convenience and control it gave persons managing diabetes. fingerstick, while eet- ingly painful, seemed to some a small price to pay to avoid going to the physician unless absolutely necessary. Then Abbott Laboratories developed a new wrinkle that could be classified as revolu- tionary at best but certainly evolutionary at minimum The reetyle ibre. The televi- sion commercials appear regularly with the woman nonchalantly holding her mobile phone for a second over the circular sensor explant affixed to her skin to obtain a nonin- vasive readout in real time. Patients also can customize the system to sound an alarm if blood glucose readings are too low or high or if the reader and sensor experience signal loss for any reason.
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