Fight MRSA With Nasal Prep
Clinical studies have shown that 3M's nasal prep, packaged in a 4mL bottle with swabs, kills 99.5% of Staphylococcus aureus, including MRSA, in the nares in 1 hour and maintains that level for at least 12 hours, a key benefit for surgical patients who may be at risk for infection, says the company. The povidone-iodine solution's film-forming materials maintain the active ingredient in the nares where bacteria reside.

Skin and nasal antiseptic "? 3M "? www.3m.com/infectionprevention

Surface Disinfection on the Go
Promote the safety of your transport workers by placing packs of Dispatch disinfectant towels with bleach on wheelchairs, gurneys, IV poles, beds and other transport devices. Featuring an easy-open, single-handed resealable closure, each pack comes with 40 disinfectant towels, and each case contains 24 packs.

Dispatch Patient Transport Solution ($261.84 per case) "? Caltech Industries "? www.caltechindustries.com

Single-Use Fluid Waste Solution
A 20L, single-use, disposable collection disc and liner system that helps minimize cross-contamination between cases separates the ORwell from other self-contained fluid waste collection and disposal systems that use reusable canisters. Each disc is easily removed and discarded at the end of the disposal process, and no specialized cleaning processes are required between cases — staff can simply place a fresh collection disc into the unit and wheel it back into the OR.

ORwell fluid collection and disposal system "? Cardinal Health "? www.cardinalhealth.com/orwell

Closed Container for Flashing
Meet CMS's standards for acceptable flash sterilization by placing items to be flashed in the SteriTite container, a filterless, sealed-container system from Case Medical that meets all parameters for use in sealed flash sterilization. The container's FlashTite valve automatically opens and closes in the autoclave. All components, including the valve plate, can be easily disassembled for cleaning, says the company.

SteriTite "? Case Medical "? www.casemed.com

High-Tech Hand Hygiene Surveillance
Monitor your staff's hand hygiene compliance with HandGiene, an RFID-based tracking system that picks up signals from a name tag or wristband issued to each staff member to keep a running, real-time tally of users' visits to special soap and hand sanitizer dispensers. Web-based software lets you monitor specific employees, teams, stations, departments or shifts and flag incidents of non-compliance.

HandGiene Monitoring System ($1,500 to $2,000) "? HandGiene "? www.handgienecorp.com

Better Than the Naked Eye
See what you've been missing when it comes to damaged or soiled surgical instruments with HealthMark's professional-quality Optical Inspection Devices. Choose from super-sharp magnifying glasses and innovative digital microscopes that can capture images for further investigation and documentation while helping you comply with AAMI ST79, which recommends the use of visual aids to improve post-cleaning inspection of instruments.

Optical Inspection Devices ($210) "? Healthmark Industries "? www.hmark.com

New Name in Sterility Assurance
Valisafe, the new sterility assurance division of Medisafe America, offers a complete range of new products to ensure simple, continuous and consistent monitoring of every decontamination and sterilization cycle, as well as every item you process. The full product line includes emulators, Bowie-Dick test cards with superior ink technology, extended timing challenge packs and Wash Check Monitors that keep tabs on washer-disinfectors, ultrasonic washing processes and endoscopic washing.

Valisafe sterility assurance products and Wash Check Monitors "? Medisafe America "? www.valisafe.com

Speedier Scope Turnover
Turn over your endoscopes faster with Medivators' new DSD Edge, a dual-basin, asynchronous automated endoscope reprocessor that boasts a reprocessing cycle as short as 22 minutes. One machine is capable of reprocessing 44 scopes in 8 hours, thereby improving facility throughput, says the company. The reprocessor is designed to operate with a single-use, environmentally friendly peracetic acid called Rapicide PA, which works at a low, 30 ?C temperature to eliminate cool-down time and ensure scope compatibility.

DSD Edge ($39,900) "? Medivators "? www.minntech.com/medivators

Pre-Soak and Clean Instruments
Get instruments and devices ready for reprocessing with the dual-enzyme Micro-Zyme D and the multi-enzyme Micro-Zyme M concentrated detergent solutions from Micro-Scientific. The quick-acting solutions work by mixing 1 to 2 ounces in a gallon of warm tap water before soaking soiled instruments for 2 to 5 minutes. Both solutions are available in 1-gallon pour bottles (4 to a case) or 2.5-gallon containers with spigots (2 per case). The Micro-Zyme D is also available in a 15-gallon plastic drum.

Micro-Zyme Concentrated Enzymatic Detergent Solutions "? Micro-Scientific Industries "? www.opticide.com

Infection Prevention at Home
Have patients participate in your infection prevention program by sending them home from their pre-op visits with this skin cleansing patient kit. The kit comes with a 4-oz. bottle of Hibiclens, 5 disposable cotton washcloths and a guide to general skin cleansing, including instructions on the proper way and at what time intervals to bathe or shower.

The guide also has space for patient instructions.

Hibiclens general skin cleansing patient kit ($5) "? M??lnlycke Health "? www.hibiclens.com

Clean 2 Scopes at Once
Clean and disinfect 2 flexible endoscopes at once in just 29 minutes with Olympus' new OER-Pro reprocessor, designed to be compatible with Olympus endoscopes. To enhance throughput and ease of use, the OER-Pro includes automated flushing of endoscope channels and sensor technology that automatically shuts down the machine when leaks are detected. An RFID management system helps keep tabs on reprocessing by tracking scope serial numbers, the time and date of reprocessing and the staff members handling the scopes.

OER-Pro ($29,000 to $34,000) "? Olympus "? www.olympusamerica.com/reprocessing

Disposable Yet Durable Wipes
The Sani-Cloth germicidal wipes known for their 2-minute contact time and 26 kill claims are now made with a new, hexagonal-embossed material that contains 40% more wood-based fibers and is 20% thicker than the old diamond design. In addition to their more clothlike feel and significantly better fluid capacity, PDI says the re-engineered disposable wipes also come in newly designed, recyclable canisters that use less material than previous packaging.

Sani-Cloth germicidal disposable wipes "? Professional Disposables International "? www.pdipdi.com

Chemical Indicators Made Simple
SPSmedical's VH202 Chemical Indicator helps you easily differentiate processed items from unprocessed items via a color-coded system. Compatible with both the Sterrad and VPro sterilization processes, this internal indicator changes color when an item has been exposed to the sterilant, making it easy for staff to interpret the results of the process.

VH2O2 Chemical Indicator ($18 per box of 250) "? SPSmedical "? www.spsmedical.com

A Gentler Chamber Cleaner
SteriCert's eco-friendly, non-toxic C3 Sterilizer Chamber Cleaner removes rust, scale, stains and discoloration due to spills without leaving an unpleasant odor or residue behind. Formulated for both stainless steel and nickel-clad chamber surfaces, C3 ensures a clean chamber, limits the possibility of contamination and provides optimum heating of the load when used weekly.

C3 Sterilizer Chamber Cleaner ($49 for a starter kit; $199 for box of 6 16-oz. bottles) "? SteriCert "? www.stericert.com

Fast, Gentle Endoscope Reprocessing
Running a 23-minute cycle, Steris' System 1E provides fast reprocessing of cleaned, reusable, immersible, heat-sensitive critical and semi-critical devices. The liquid chemical sterilant processing system uses 2 pre-filters, UV irradiation and a MaxPure filter, working in harmony with S40 Sterilant Concentrate as a validated process. Steris says the system's use-dilution is gentle on delicate instruments, including multi-channel flexible endoscopes, has neutral pH and rinses safely down the drain.

System 1E liquid chemical sterilant processing system "? Steris Corporation "? www.system1e.com

Emesis Containment Made Easy
The convenient and easy-to-use closure system on Xodus Medical's new emesis bags minimize the potential for exposure and spillage and allow for hygienic disposal, making these bags a safe, ideal solution to emesis containment and measurement in the recovery room. Bags are available in the color blue or clear and fit in existing wall-mounted dispensers, which are sold separately.

Emesis bags "? Xodus Medical "? www.xodusmedical.com