A Robot That Can Help Improve Patient Safety? Meet Tru-D
When the topic of patient safety comes up in hospitals or other health care facilities, many people only associate this with the implementation of procedures to ensure that patients receive the right treatments and prescriptions. These days however, it has come to include various forms of technology that are being used within hospital environments as well such as a robot that is able to kill up to 99.9% of harmful bacteria strains by means of UV light.
What is Tru-D?
Tru-D is a revolutionary robotic device which makes use of UV-C rays the only UV wavelength that is known for its natural germicidal properties – to help disinfect almost any type of area or environment such as hospital rooms, intensive care wards, public areas, emergency rooms and even operating theaters. In fact, it is recommended that this device be used to clean all surfaces that are considered to be high-touch zones. This patient safety device is able to deal with an extensive range of harmful pathogens such as Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Clostridium difficile (C. diff.) and a range of other bacteria all of which can have severely negative effects on patient outcomes.
Saving Lives and Money
Hospital Acquired Infections (HAIs) not only pose serious health risks to patients; if a patient develops any form of conditions or bacterial infections during his or her stay in hospital, it can sometimes cost thousands of dollars to combat the infection in question as much as $13,000 in most cases. According to information gathered by the CDC in 2009, the total cost of treating approximately 2 million HAIs has amount to more than $30 billion per year. Using Tru-D to perform intensive cleaning duties within hospital environments will cost less than a fraction of this amount and it will also result in fewer patients being at risk of contracting HAIs in the future.
Preventing the Spread of Super Bugs
Excessive use of antibiotics and antibacterial cleaning products in hospitals has resulted in the spread of bugs and bacteria that are becoming resistant to traditional cleaning methods and products making patients more susceptible than ever to developing HAIs. However, because Tru-D makes use of UV-C rays instead of harmful chemicals to perform its cleaning duties, the chances of these bugs spreading or even mutating are reduced to virtually zero providing a cleaner, safer and healthier environment for everyone concerned.
Keeping Hospital Stays as Short as Possible
A hospital environment that is free of germs and harmful bacteria will help ensure that patients do not spend any more time in hospital than what is absolutely necessary. Shorter hospital stays not only save money for patients and the hospitals in question; they enable patients to resume their normal lives as quickly as possible. Having patients leave hospital as soon as possible after recovery also enabled beds to be made available for those who truly need them.
Thanks to advances and technological devices such as Tru-D the cleaning robot, patient safety levels in hospitals look set to continue improving dramatically in years to come.