Sanitizing robots could be seen in hospitals before we know it

In our last post, we highlighted how surgeries could soon be recorded, and that legislation was pending on making this mandatory for all surgical rooms. The increased use of technology in these venues is not likely to end with barcoding surgical instruments and recording procedures.

This is especially true when it comes to sanitizing these venues. After all, more than 1 million hospital based bacterial infections are reported each year. Complications from these infections lead to nearly 100,000 deaths across the United States annually. As such, infection related deaths are one of the leading causes of death across the country.

Because of the liability and increased health care costs, along with the shortfalls that humans have in sanitizing hospital surfaces, more medical providers are looking towards robots to complete sanitation duties.

Essentially, these droids are basically roving UV lamps. The ultraviolet light stops the spread of viruses and bacteria by fusing their DNA, which prevents organisms from growing. If these organisms don’t grow, it is easier to eliminate them by cleaning surfaces manually.

According to a recent zdnet.com report, hospital administrators see these robots as an important introduction to the arrival of other sanitizing robots that can finish up after a human cleans a particular room. The robots can also be programmed to detect infection patterns and maintain detailed information about these patterns. Also, these robots could be controlled from a remote area, so they do not require additional staff members to follow them.

It remains to be seen how quickly these robots will become an essential part of a hospital’s cleaning protocols.