Ecolab announced that it opened the new, state-of-the-art Ecolab Healthcare Advanced Design Center in Eagan, Minn.

St. Paul, Minn.-based Ecolab intends for its 22,000-square-foot innovation center to enable it to partner with medical device industry customers on infection prevention solutions for cutting-edge surgical equipment while also developing new solutions for hospitals and surgery centers.

According to a news release, the facility contains custom-designed sterile barriers and equipment drapes to help hospitals and surgery centers boost infection prevention measures, improve patient outcomes and manage operational costs and efficiencies.

“The surgical equipment industry is projected to grow rapidly over the next five years driven by the demand for more consistent and precise procedures that improve the quality of life and shorten recovery times for patients,” Ecolab Healthcare & Life Sciences president Beth Simermeyer said in the release. “By investing in developing custom sterile barrier  solutions for this growing industry, we will help our customers innovate faster and help  protect patients from infection.”

Ecolab said its new center can bring new product design all the way through to pilot manufacturing by partnering earlier in the product development cycle, helping manufacturers bring new technologies to market faster. Customers will be able to work with Ecolab researchers to design, develop, test and produce customized equipment drapes.

“The horizon for surgical innovation is vast and accelerating,” Ecolab SVP & GM for global healthcare Gergely Sved said. “With the Advanced Design Center, Ecolab is looking forward to expanding our customer partnerships and further  elevating the co-creation of solutions that serve clinicians and their patients.”