Among the culprits are MRSA and C.Diff and in some areas Ebola and Anthrax, among other superbug infections.

United Hospital Center is one of only about 400 hospitals in the U.S. combatting bacteria, viruses, fungi and bacteria spores with a combination of robots and X pulsed xenon (UV) light.

 

Sound high-tech?

 

It is.

 

“There are about 5,500 hospitals in the U.S. so it’s not the standard of care,” said Dr. Mark Povroznik, chief quality officer at UHC. “This is state-of-the-art technology and (for residents of the Bridgeport area), it’s right in your own back door.”

 

The use of robots at UHC to rid patient rooms of bacteria is about a five-year-old practice. The xenon - a colorless, dense, odorless noble gas found in the Earth’s atmosphere in trace amounts - is brand new.

 

“Back in 2010, we deployed ultra violet light technology to aid in room disinfection, but the technology on the market was mercury-based,” said Povroznik.

 

Mercury is just a light source to produce UVC wavelengths or light.

 

“The sun actually produces UVA and UVB, as well as UVC. UVA and UVB make it through the earth’s atmosphere. That’s what causes sunburn,” he said. “But UVC doesn’t make it through the earth’s atmosphere. It exists naturally.”

 

So along came the ability to produce UVC – first through the use of mercury light sources.

 

“That’s what we deployed in 2010 and were one of the first hospitals on the east coast to do so,” Povroznik said.

 

UHC was one of the “pioneer” hospitals that went the extra mile, utilizing the technology. At that time there was limited published data about the effect of the bacteria-ridding technology. Now there is much published data backing up the fact that UVC does, in fact, kill bacteria, Povroznik said.

 

Also, technology has furthered and studies conducted by groups including the CDC. New options became available.

 

“So we were at the point to either expand our use of mercury or to reevaluate what’s available in the UVC market,” Povroznik said.

That included xenon bulbs vs. mercury-filled bulbs.

 

“The xenon enables you to produce the wavelength necessary to kill bacteria, not only quicker, but also over a broader spectrum,” he said. “It’s more effective – and it’s faster.”

 

UHC made a decision to move away from mercury and add xenon – expanding a number of robotic devises used in the hospital from two to three. The robots produce high-intensity UVC light which disrupts a bacteria’s cell membrane so it can no longer duplicate – so it dies.

 

So when a patient is discharged from a hospital room, a member of environmental service personnel goes in and cleans the bathrooms with standard chemicals and bleaches – wiping down walls, bed rails, light switches, door handles and all other surfaces and objects.

“We deploy ultraviolet light to kill anything they may have missed,” Povroznik said. “What this ultraviolet is doing is killing bioburdens that we cannot see. When you do that, it lessens the risk of infection transmission.”

 

Editor's Note: Photo, courtesy of UHC, shows Dr. Mark Povroznik, vice president of quality at UHC and Beth Bond, MBA, BSN, RN, CIC, infection preventionist at UHC with the robots.