Prime Medical has launched its SAF-T line of bactericidal soft surfaces for healthcare, including privacy curtains, bed linens, towels and apparel for patients and staff made with a patented fabric that harnesses the power of chlorine bleach to continuously kill the colonization of bacteria and viruses with 99.9 percent effectiveness, providing full protection for the life of products.
The products provide protection from harmful microorganisms that lead to costly – and often deadly – healthcare-associated infections, which contribute to more than 100,000 deaths each year in the U.S. alone and cost as much as $45 billion annually. These include staph, e. coli, salmonella, pneumonia and hepatitis A.
“Unprotected fabrics in the healthcare environment are known to harbor dangerous pathogens and can undermine infection prevention measures such as hand washing, instrument sterilization and hard surface disinfection,” Byron Davidson, DO, chief medical officer of Prime Medical, said. “The fabric used in SAF-T products has been field tested by the United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases and is proven to kill the colonization of bacteria with no decrease in effectiveness.”
The products are made with a technology that binds chlorine from the wash to the surface of the fabric. The chlorine molecules are retained on the fabric for up to 120 days to actively kill 99.9 percent of harmful pathogens on contact. Each laundering in EPA-registered bleach completely recharges the fabrics’ germ-killing effectiveness through 75 industrial wash cycles.
They surpass the limited capability of antimicrobial fabrics, which only inhibit odor-causing bacteria and quickly diminish in effectiveness, according to the company, and offer protection without causing irritation to the skin or compromising the integrity or color of the fabric.
The products also feature side-entry snaps on patient gowns, privacy curtain panels that are replaced without the need of a ladder and available RFID technology for inventory management.
