Hygiene and sterilization: Hightech for clean surfaces Skip to main content
Image: A room in a hospital with white floor, ceiling, walls and cabinets; Copyright: Prostock-studio

Topic of the Month May 2022

Hygiene and sterilization: Hightech for clean surfaces

Due to the Corona pandemic, a lot of attention is currently focused on the protective effect of medical masks. But especially in medical work areas, the protection against aerosol transmission is not enough, because a lot of pathogens can be transmitted trough direct contact with people or surfaces. Hygienic measures against contact infections like these are very costly in terms of energy and time, though. Smart solutions offer a big potential for optimization here.

Disinfection: Solutions to stop pathogens from spreading
Image: Cleaning staff at a hospital is wiping the floor of an OR; Copyright: karrastock
Disinfection and sterilization are the most reliable and best way to ensure patient safety in healthcare settings. Whether it is at the point of care when the patient is either at the hospital or medical practice, or wherever medical devices are manufactured and packaged in a sterile environment – the transmission of pathogens and microorganisms via contaminated surfaces, objects, or hands can have severe health impacts.
Read the article about hygiene and sterilization

Production hygiene: critical from packaging process to warehouse and logistics
Image: Clean room of SOMI medical, in the rear area is working an employee, in the front area at the right is a filled storage rack; Copyright: SOMI medical GmbH

The ongoing global pandemic makes hygiene an aspect that is more important than ever though it has always been vital in hospitals or laboratories. Apart from onsite measures to protect staff and patients from exposure to infection, this involves high standards of hygiene in medical device manufacturing.
Read the interview with Frank Wolfsdorf here

Cold plasma: Contactless disinfection of surfaces
Image: Black, box-like device that directs a small, blue flame towards a light switch; Copyright: Fraunhofer IST/Paul Kurze
One of the most time-consuming tasks in hospitals is the manual cleaning and disinfection of high touch points and surfaces such as door handles, buttons, and switches. These are areas where microorganisms are spread by direct skin contact. The "MobDi – Mobile Disinfection" research project is developing a robot that automatically cleans and disinfects these areas. It will use cold plasma as one of its tools.
Read the interview with Dr. Kristina Lachmann here

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