Dive Brief:
- Some healthcare organizations are using robots to make sure vacant rooms are germ free.
- The robots, which use ultraviolet (UV) light to kill germs, can eradicate highly-infectious agents, such as MRSA, C. difficile, Ebola, measles and CRE.
- The cost of the robots, which are made by a company in San Antonio called Xenex, is upwards of $100,000 each.
Dive Insight:
Although hospitals have been using UV light as a method of disinfection for years, Xenex spokesperson Melinda Hart says their product is more environmentally friendly and much quicker. "Every other UV company uses mercury bulbs which take much longer to disinfect a room," Hart told the Los Angeles Daily News. "It takes our robot less than five minutes to destroy C. diff spores, and it takes mercury bulb devices 45 minutes to achieve a similar level of disinfection." She also said that hospitals that are using their robots reported a greater than 50% decrease in C. difficile rates.
As hospitals continue to deal with potentially-dangerous organisms, these robots may turn out to be a wise investment.