Study Finds Handheld Far UV-C Devices Effectively Reduce Surface Pathogens in a Healthcare Setting

DETROIT , April 29 /Businesswire/ - Freestyle Partners, LLC announced today the results of an in-hospital disinfection study using first-of-its-kind handheld Filtered Far UV-C devices to demonstrate the effective, rapid reduction of healthcare-acquired infection-causing pathogens from certain high-touch clinical surfaces. The study may help to address a major in-hospital challenge of disinfecting high-touch clinical surfaces that often cannot be disinfected by traditional manual methods.

Reducing healthcare-acquired infections (HAIs) is an ongoing and critical need within the global healthcare network. In U.S. healthcare facilities alone, 1.7 million patients contract HAIs annually and HAIs cause 99,000 deaths every year. Surface pathogens can persist for days to months and studies show that 50% of surfaces in healthcare environments do not receive adequate levels of disinfection during manual chemical cleaning. Yearly expenses for the U.S. healthcare system to combat HAIs are estimated between $28-$33 billion.

The study, led by researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, showed a statistically significant reduction of surface pathogens known to cause HAIs with the use of the Freestyle Partners handheld Filtered Far UV-C devices on most surfaces tested in clinical work areas of hematologic malignancy and stem cell units in and around patient care areas.

The device has proven effective in preclinical and clinical studies and offers the advantage of ‘no-touch’ disinfection when manual methods are not optimal. The results of the efficacy study work have been accepted and will be presented at several global infectious disease conferences including The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA), The European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID Global) and The International Immunocompromised Host Society (ICHS).

This study continued to validate the highly effective and rapid reduction of harmful pathogens on most high touch surfaces. The devices used implemented patented functionality that enables proper use and achieved desired efficacy.

Filtered Far UV-C is a human-safe, breakthrough disinfection technology that utilizes invisible germicidal light to kill pathogens – viruses, bacteria, spores, fungi – and works in seconds when used in a handheld format, without 2–10-minute wet dwell times required by chemical disinfectants to achieve necessary efficacy.

“This study provides further real-world data on the efficacy of handheld Filtered Far UV-C devices to reduce surface pathogens which we hope could ultimately improve patient care and tackle the tremendous expenses healthcare institutions face in fighting HAIs,” said Jennifer Rosen, co-founder of Freestyle Partners, LLC.

Freestyle Partners, LLC has worked with scientists, technologists, and engineers within the Filtered Far UV-C space to develop prototypes, conduct lab testing, and publish peer-reviewed research on both the efficacy and safety of handheld Filtered Far UV-C devices.

For more evidence-based and peer-reviewed papers in scientific journals that support the efficacy, safety and use of Filtered Far UV-C, visit: freestylepartnersllc.com/the-science

About Freestyle Partners, LLC

Based in Detroit, Freestyle Partners, LLC seeks to help people across the world live healthier lives by reducing harmful and deadly pathogens on surfaces and in shared air through the efficacious and safe application of the breakthrough disinfection technology including applications within the handheld, in-vehicle, transportation (airplanes, automobiles, buses, trains, ships, etc.) and autonomous segments, Filtered Far UV-C. For more information, visit www.freestylepartnersllc.com.

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