Study Finds Handheld Far UV-C Devices Effectively Reduce Surface Pathogens in a Healthcare Setting
April 29 2024 - 7:00AM
Business Wire
Portable germicidal light technology
disinfects high-touch clinical surfaces in seconds
Freestyle Partners, LLC announced today the results of an
in-hospital disinfection study using first-of-its-kind handheld
Filtered Far UV-C devices to demonstrate the effective, rapid
reduction of healthcare-acquired infection-causing pathogens from
certain high-touch clinical surfaces. The study may help to address
a major in-hospital challenge of disinfecting high-touch clinical
surfaces that often cannot be disinfected by traditional manual
methods.
Reducing healthcare-acquired infections (HAIs) is an ongoing and
critical need within the global healthcare network. In U.S.
healthcare facilities alone, 1.7 million patients contract HAIs
annually and HAIs cause 99,000 deaths every year. Surface pathogens
can persist for days to months and studies show that 50% of
surfaces in healthcare environments do not receive adequate levels
of disinfection during manual chemical cleaning. Yearly expenses
for the U.S. healthcare system to combat HAIs are estimated between
$28-$33 billion.
The study, led by researchers at The University of Texas MD
Anderson Cancer Center, showed a statistically significant
reduction of surface pathogens known to cause HAIs with the use of
the Freestyle Partners handheld Filtered Far UV-C devices on most
surfaces tested in clinical work areas of hematologic malignancy
and stem cell units in and around patient care areas.
The device has proven effective in preclinical and clinical
studies and offers the advantage of ‘no-touch’ disinfection when
manual methods are not optimal. The results of the efficacy study
work have been accepted and will be presented at several global
infectious disease conferences including The Society for Healthcare
Epidemiology of America (SHEA), The European Society of Clinical
Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID Global) and The
International Immunocompromised Host Society (ICHS).
This study continued to validate the highly effective and rapid
reduction of harmful pathogens on most high touch surfaces. The
devices used implemented patented functionality that enables proper
use and achieved desired efficacy.
Filtered Far UV-C is a human-safe, breakthrough disinfection
technology that utilizes invisible germicidal light to kill
pathogens – viruses, bacteria, spores, fungi – and works in seconds
when used in a handheld format, without 2–10-minute wet dwell times
required by chemical disinfectants to achieve necessary
efficacy.
“This study provides further real-world data on the efficacy of
handheld Filtered Far UV-C devices to reduce surface pathogens
which we hope could ultimately improve patient care and tackle the
tremendous expenses healthcare institutions face in fighting HAIs,”
said Jennifer Rosen, co-founder of Freestyle Partners, LLC.
Freestyle Partners, LLC has worked with scientists,
technologists, and engineers within the Filtered Far UV-C space to
develop prototypes, conduct lab testing, and publish peer-reviewed
research on both the efficacy and safety of handheld Filtered Far
UV-C devices.
For more evidence-based and peer-reviewed papers in scientific
journals that support the efficacy, safety and use of Filtered Far
UV-C, visit: freestylepartnersllc.com/the-science
About Freestyle Partners, LLC
Based in Detroit, Freestyle Partners, LLC seeks to help people
across the world live healthier lives by reducing harmful and
deadly pathogens on surfaces and in shared air through the
efficacious and safe application of the breakthrough disinfection
technology including applications within the handheld, in-vehicle,
transportation (airplanes, automobiles, buses, trains, ships, etc.)
and autonomous segments, Filtered Far UV-C. For more information,
visit www.freestylepartnersllc.com.
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Marybeth Roberts Tilis Group 1-951-553-3343
mroberts@tilisgroup.com