Originally Published MDDI January 2004
NEWSTRENDS
Erik Swain [6]
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| HaloShield helps linens resist microbial organisms. |
A new technology coming into use in 2004 could allow hospital linens to become more resistant to microbial organisms and to retain that resistance for a long time.
Vanson HaloSource (Redmond, WA) signed a three-year, $1 million deal with Medline Industries Inc. (Mundelein, IL) to develop hospital sheets, pillowcases, scrubs, and gowns using Vanson's HaloShield technology, which binds chlorine molecules to any textile.
“It holds the chlorine in place and allows it to work for a long amount of time: days, weeks, months, even a year,” says Ken Jacobs, Vanson's vice president and general manager for new business. “Chlorine-based sanitizers are the best way to clean surfaces. By bonding to the chlorine, the HaloShield technology makes the chlorine work quickly.”
This is important in a hospital setting, he says, because antibiotic- and other drug-resistant organisms can be found there. “To the best of my knowledge, those germs are not resistant to chlorine, which makes it a very good sanitizer across the board,” Jacobs says. “Bleach is already a preferred product in the hospital environment, so this technology can take advantage of something that is currently practiced in hospital protocols.”
Washing the fabric with common bleach renews the antimicrobial power, so the technology should work over the entire life of the sheet or linen. “A lot of independent testing was done, and whether it was the 10th, 30th, or 50th washing, the chlorine sanitizer was still bound to the garment,” Jacobs says. “The HaloShield is just as present as it was in the beginning. There is no trail-off in effectiveness over time. It works the same as a permanent-press-treated article, and does not look, smell, or feel different from uncoated fabrics.” Testing also showed that the substance does not irritate patients with sensitive skin.
The linens are likely to hit the market in the second quarter of 2004, and market penetration could happen quickly as Medline is the United States' largest privately owned medical supply company.
Other applications, such as blankets, operating room linens, and incontinence pads, could follow soon after. “We are also working to finalize hard- surface coatings, which could extend the technology to hard surfaces in the hospital that can be washed down with bleach,” Jacobs says.
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