Nanosonics’ Ultrasound Infection Prevention Toolkit is a game changer for health organisations
Global manufacturer of infection prevention technology, Nanosonics launched a game-changing toolkit aimed at healthcare practitioners tasked with tackling the decontamination of ultrasound probes across the UK and Ireland. In the last three years, the toolkit has had over 516,000 downloads, from health professionals and organisations across the UK. The toolkit has helped authorities to overhaul their procedures for infection prevention in ultrasound settings – in turn creating better outcomes for patients. Developed in partnership with experts from across healthcare, the toolkit continues to play a vital role in standardising internal procedures that, in many cases, are still leaving patients at risk of infection from contaminated ultrasound probes.
Various pieces of research in the last decade show that patient infections, post ultrasound, remain prevalent; infections which are easily preventable where the appropriate systems and tools are in place. Startling findings include:
- More than 90% of transvaginal ultrasound probes being contaminated after cleaning with a paper towel and more than 50% tested positive for MRSA or other potentially pathogenic bacteria.[1]
- More than 20% of probe heads remained contaminated with bacteria after low level disinfection (LLD) with wipes.[2]
- 5% of facilities within a national health authority, are not performing high level disinfection (HLD) of endocavitary probes.[3]
The Ultrasound Infection Prevention Toolkit (UIPT) aims to improve these statistics by outlining the best practice and procedure for clinicians in a healthcare setting. Designed to be adaptable to all sizes of facility and complexity of operations, the toolkit offers strategies and supporting resources to help locate and identify ultrasound equipment; risk assess by department; and develop departmental or organisational policies that ensure adequate decontamination.
The toolkit has had input from experts such as Linda Cooper, the former decontamination services manager at Belfast Health and Social Care Trust; John Prendergast, senior decontamination engineer at NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership; Helen Campbell, decontamination consultant and director of education for the Institute of Decontamination Science; and Niamh O’Callaghan, decontamination lead at South Infirmary Victoria Hospital (SIVUH), Cork. It has drawn from existing guidelines and international standards such as the EN14885 chemical disinfectants and antiseptics standard and sits within the framework of the Spaulding classification, to create an effective resource that’s easily integrated with existing processes and procedures.
Nanosonics produces a range of infection prevention technologies, including the trophon which utilises ‘sonically activated’ hydrogen peroxide to quickly and efficiently high-level disinfect transvaginal, transrectal and surface probes. Built in efficiencies like digital record keeping of disinfection, compatibility with over 1,300 different probes, and compact nature of the design make it adaptable to multiple settings – making it a preferred choice by clinicians worldwide.
The UIPT is a free, accessible resource which is available to all clinicians at ultrasoundinfectionprevention.org.uk. Nanosonics and the wider team continually optimise the toolkit with feedback from clinicians across the UK and Ireland, ensuring that it remains as useable as possible for modern clinicians. To find out more about Nanosonics and their infection prevention technologies, please visit nanosonics.co.uk or contact info@nanosonics.co.uk.
- Oide, S., et al. (2019). J Med Ultrason 46(4): 475-479.
- Buescher DL, et al. Ultrasound Obstet Gynecol 2016;47(5): 646-651.
- Scott D et al. Risk of infection following semi-invasive ultrasound procedures in Scotland, 2010 to 2016: A retrospective cohort study using linked national datasets. Ultrasound 2018;26(3): 168-177.
This news story has been sponsored by the companies concerned and does not represent the views or opinions of RAD Magazine.