PRODUCTS & SERVICES
performance of UVC-generating devices, and feel they can rely upon the built-in safety features of newly developed products,” he asserted.
Clements pointed to ASHRAE publishing its Standard 241 in July as making a difference.
“Standard 241—’Control of Infectious Aerosols’—is a ground-
breaking code-enforceable standard, designed to help mitigate the risk of airborne transmission of pathogens in buildings,” he indicated. “Within this Standard are requirements for equiva- lent clean airflow rates setting target requirements per occupant of pathogen-free air flow. In many cases, conventional HVAC simply cannot meet these requirements without extensive redesign and much higher energy costs.” UVGI, however, which includes Upper Air UVC LED equip-
ment, “uses a fraction of the energy to deliver an increased equivalent of air changes per hour (e-ACH) and can be deployed throughout the healthcare facility—the exam room, patient room, waiting room—augmenting the ability of existing equip- ment to meet the requirements of Standard 241,” he added. Clements encourages everyone to participate in the process toward workable solutions. “Ideally, we should all be part of the solution: Each of us needs to be part of the feedback loop market development,” he insisted. “Industry, product design- ers, academia, healthcare providers and standards agencies should all work towards communicating the benefits and ultimately deploying this really effective, proven technology to create an added layer of protection to patients and care workers within all healthcare settings.”
Alice Brewer, CIC, CPHQ, FAPIC, senior director, Clinical Affairs, PDI Healthcare, recalled the debut of the company’s Tru-D UVC disinfection device 16 years ago in 2007.
“Prior to the pandemic, some were skeptical
of the efficacy of UVC disinfection, and others may have faced barriers to adoption because of cost,” Brewer noted. Over time, adoption of “enhanced, ‘no-touch’ disinfection technology” increased significantly with a number of high- profile healthcare organizations investing in the technology, but the COVID-19 pandemic also changed how hospitals use the devices, she recalled. “Some facilities now deploy them daily in all patient rooms, public areas, sterile processing and other spaces within the facility,” Brewer said. “Further, hospitals expressed the need for disinfection of smaller spaces, such as bathrooms, ambu- lances and other areas, which is why Tru-D SmartUVC devel- oped the Tru-D iQ Scout.
Alice Brewer
“The COVID-19 pandemic also brought to light the impor- tance of surfaces receiving a measured dose of UVC energy to ensure all areas of a room are adequately disinfected,” she continued. “Devices that rely on a fixed cycle time and/ or multiple positions around the room provide inefficient disinfection and missed areas. A precise, measured dose of UVC energy minimizes that risk by calculating the time needed to react to room variables—such as size, geometry, surface reflectivity, and the amount and location of contents in the room.”
Mad scramble For UV technology companies accustomed to promoting products intended for high-quality cleaning and disinfection practices that yielded steady sales growth, the pandemic served as an abrupt wake-up call.
hpnonline.com • HEALTHCARE PURCHASING NEWS • October 2023 45
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