RECENTLY, in effort to eliminate Ebola at the
source, through use of innovative disinfection
technology, two “germ-killing robots” were
deployed from the US to the JFK Hospital and
ELWA Hospital both in Monrovia, Republic of
Liberia, both hotspots of the Ebola disease
outbreak.
The robots, technically known as TRU-D
SmartUVC, were used to disinfect health care
environments where Ebola patients are being
treated. Good Health Weekly gathered that TRU-D
is the only portable UV disinfection device on the
market with Sensor360 technology, which
calculates the time needed to react to room
variables such as size, geometry, surface
reflectivity and the amount and location of
equipment in the room and effectively deliver a
lethal dose of UV-C light during a single cycle
from a single, central location in the room.
Ultraviolet light
“It works by generating ultraviolet light energy that
modifies the DNA structure of viral pathogens, like
Ebola, so that they cannot reproduce. Viruses that
cannot reproduce cannot colonise and harm
patients,” the inventor, a tropical disease expert
and medical anthropologist Dr. Jeffery L. Deal
noted in an interview.
Deal and his colleague, Chuck Dunn, President and
CEO of TRU-D LLC, respectively, spoke about the
importance of TRU-D to environmental disinfection
in
“TRU-D has been validated by more than 10
studies to be 99.99 percent effective in eliminating
the most common pathogens that can use health
care-associated infections.
After deploying germ-killing robots to Liberia to
aid in battle against the Ebola Virus Disease, TRU-
D SmartUVC inventor traveled to the Ebola
hotspots with UV disinfection devices
TRU-D guarantees a pathogen-free environment
for patients and health care staff. Deal, a Fellow in
the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene,
has been training hospital staff to operate the
devices in a number of hospital environments and
monitor progress for successful disinfection.
“We developed TRU-D SmartUVC technology to
combat the devastating effects ofhospital acquired
infections,” Deal said.
“Unlike many diseases, Ebola strikes hospital
workers more than any other group, making it the
ultimate hospital acquired infection.”
With TRU-D, health care leaders in the U.S.,
Canada, the U.K. and Saudi Arabia are eliminating
pathogens like Ebola, Middle East Respiratory
Syndrome, MERS, influenza, norovirus, Clostridium
difficile, Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus
aureus, MRSA, etc., in all types of health care
settings, including isolation wards, patient rooms,
operating rooms, surgical suites, intensive care
units, emergency rooms, public areas and
ambulances.
“We know through extensive CDC-funded research
specific to TRU-D conducted by thought leaders in
epidemiology and infection prevention that TRU-D
is effective at eliminating anypathogen by
delivering a precisely measured UVC dose.
“As soon as we knew we could aid struggling
hospitals in Liberia, our team came together and
formulated a plan to get TRU-D on the ground.
More than 200 TRU-Ds have been deployed to
disinfect hospitals across the U.S. and
internationally.
Significance
Between 10 and 15 percent of Ebola cases have
been among health care workers. While most of
this stems from contact with the patient, concerns
exist that the physical environment can retain
active microbes and be a risk. This device is used
in the US to eliminate the organisms that may still
reside on the walls, knobs, rails or any other
exposed surface in health care settings. The
robotic technology is capable of making the
Liberian hospitals safer for the staff and for new
patients.
Development
It was developed by a team of engineers,
physicians and industrial hygienists with the
purpose of decontaminating entire rooms
automatically and eliminating concerns that a
contaminated surface was missed during routine
cleaning.
We use an ultra-efficient narrow wavelength called
UVC to flood the room with germicidal energy. UVC
dosage is accurately measured and automatically
adapts to kill organisms, even in shadowed areas.
UV disinfection technology and EVD control
This technology is designed to prevent the spread
of the disease transmitted via contaminated
surfaces in health care environments and is not a
treatment or a cure. We believe that prevention is
the best medicine.
The U.S. Army tested this particular wavelength
against Ebola and found that the measured dose
TRU-D delivers results in incredibly rapid
destruction of the virus with its pathogen-specific
dosing options.. We know it is perfect for use in
this critical setting.
Merits/demerits
Multiple studies have already been published from
U.S. and UK academic facilities of TRU-D’s ability
to decontaminate rooms, almost always testing it
against organisms that are much more difficult to
kill in the environment than Ebola is.

This is gonna make front page

Seriously interesting and a very welcome development.