These 10 products caught my eye because they offer outside-the-box solutions to everyday challenges. From disinfecting shoes and smartphone screens to stopping staff from shivering during surgery and even stylish compression socks, you'll see the list includes innovative ideas for making your ORs safer and more pleasant places to work — without breaking the bank.

1. A Step Toward Reducing Infection Risks

Detecto’s HealthySole HSPlus would address one of my biggest pet peeves: Staff who walk around in the same soiled shoes case after case, day after day. Sure, their footwear is wipeable, but do they actually take the time to disinfect their slip-on clogs between cases? Probably not. And don’t get me started on the shrimper boots orthopedic surgeons splash around in during a full day of fluid-heavy cases. I’ve rarely, if ever, seen one of them scrub the rubber down between cases. That’s why I’m drawn to the HealthySole HSPlus, which is a germicidal system that uses UV-C light that’s said to kill 99.99% of microorganisms on the soles of shoes and booties. Once eliminated, staff won’t bring the pathogens into the OR to contaminate the surgical environment. The device can be placed right outside the doors to your ORs and it’s easy to use: Simply stand on the scale-like platform and wait 8 seconds for the disinfecting cycle to finish. A green checkmark appears on the easy-to-read display when the cycle is complete; a red ‘X’ appears if you stepped off too soon.

2. You Don't Have to Shiver During Surgery

The OR thermostat is often turned down for the comfort of the surgical team, who are hard at work under layers of scrubs and impervious gowns. Meanwhile, those of us working the case from outside the sterile field are left shivering in the perimeter of the chilly room — and we’ll do anything to keep warm. I’ve stolen a few minutes warming myself in front of the open door of an autoclave after a piping hot set of instruments was removed and a nurse I worked with used to wrap a warmed cotton blanket around her waist. I’ve even seen staff members stick the hose of forced-air warming devices into their scrubs for a quick blast of hot air. Anesthesiologist Mark Silverberg, MD, who clearly understands what’s it like to shiver in the OR, came up with OperationHeatJac, an innovative personal warming device. The belts come with air-activated warming pads or electric- and battery-powered warmers. You wrap the warming belt around your torso, on top of scrubs and under a scrub jacket or surgical gown. Dr. Silverberg also offers an insulating vest to hold in the warmth generated by the belt.

3. Turn Off the Tunes to Tune Into Patient Safety

A few orthopedic surgeons I’ve worked with loved to blast AC/DC in the OR as they cut, drilled and sawed into joints. Most of the cases went according to plan and the team (well, most of us) enjoyed rocking out to “T.N.T.” as we repaired ACLs. But on the rare occasion when something went wrong, the circulating nurse (and defacto room DJ) had to first realize the patient was in trouble and then rush to turn down the music. General surgeon Alistair MacDonald, MD, has been in ORs that needed to get really quiet, really quickly. That’s why he created the CanaryBox, which interfaces with the anesthesia monitor and a music source, and automatically turns down the tunes if the patient’s heart rate, oxygen saturation or non-invasive blood pressure reach concerning levels. The device is compatible with the anesthesia monitors of many leading manufacturers. It also accepts a standard audio input, so your personal devices can serve as a music source, and has a standard audio output jack.

4. Don 2 Gloves at Once

Ansell’s Gammex PI Glove-in-Glove system lets you double-glove in a single step. The inner glove is green and the outer glove is semi-transparent, so you can easily notice if the outer layer is compromised by a small stick or cut. During surgery, you can slip off and replace the outer layer as needed. Double-gloving has been proven to reduce the risk of sharps injuries, especially during orthopedic cases involving drills and saws, but compliance can be lagging. Surgeons and staff might be more willing to add an extra layer of protection to their hands if double-gloving can be done in a single step and without the assistance of another surgical team member. Opening a single pouch to don 2 pairs of gloves also reduces waste and lessens your facility’s environmental impact.

5. Make Sure Scrubs Don’t Walk

I’ll never forget one of my most challenging days in surgery. I had everything ready for a big case that one of our top surgeons was scheduled to perform. Every piece of equipment and every supply was in the OR, waiting for him to arrive. There was only one problem: The scrub pants he needed were out of stock. Not good. If the facility had Image First’s ScrubVault on hand to dispense and track distributions of scrubs, I would have been saved from the surgeon’s wrath and the big case would have proceeded as planned. With the ScrubVault system, scrub tops and bottoms are imbedded with radiofrequency identification chips and staff receive individual access codes, so you know who took what and when. You’ll know that scrubs will always be available, in the right size, when your staff and surgeons need them. The compact dispensing unit can be placed in multiple and accessible areas throughout your facility.

6. Ultrasound on the Go

Clarius’s Handheld Wireless Ultrasound Scanner moves easily from bedside to bedside and into the OR, where anesthesia providers can use the portable imaging technology to improve views of joints in order to place effective intra-articular injections. Captured images can be instantly uploaded to the company’s cloud platform, where they can be edited, reviewed and shared. The wireless device eliminates another set of cords in patient care areas and allow for WiFi connection to iPads, iPhones or Android devices. The image quality might not yet match the views provided by conventional platforms, but this handheld device represents a big step forward in ultrasound imaging.

7. Cost-effective Fluid Waste Disposal

If your surgeons perform fluid-intensive orthopedic or GYN cases, you might need to invest in mobile, direct-to-drain fluid waste management systems. But if your typical cases produce significantly less fluid, the Nemo disposal device from Serres might be the perfect option for keeping your OR floors dry. Fluid runoff is collected in clear bags placed within suction canisters. You then insert the fluid-filled bags into the compact Nemo disposal unit, close the cover and push the start button to initiate a 20-second emptying and wash cycle. Empty and cleaned bags can be tossed in non-regulated waste, which is much less expensive to dispose of than red bag waste. The closed system also does away with pouring fluid waste down the hopper, which eliminates the risk of staff exposure to splashes and spills.

8. These Socks Keep You on Your Feet

Stylish compression socks should be considered an oxymoron, but Healthmark Industries managed to make medical stockings stylish with its line of Swanky Athletic Socks. The socks come in eye-catching healthcare-related patterns and are designed with an arch support and hand-stitched bands to increase circulation in the calf and help prevent muscle fatigue. Leg muscle discomfort is a real issue for surgical nurses. I’m stubborn and have never transitioned to using compression socks to help reduce the swelling and aches and pains that inevitably occur after 10-hour days of non-stop action on your feet, but many of my colleagues have been forced to wear compression socks to get through long days in the OR and extend their careers. With these fun socks, they can feel good and look even better.

9. A Smart Way to Prevent Pressure Injuries

Mizuho OSI’s Avra Intelligent Pressure Sensing System measures the amount of pressure between the patient’s skin and various points on the surgical table, and indicates where pressure injuries are most likely to occur. The company’s Tempur-Pedic positioning pads can be used instead of rolled towels, wrapped IV bags, sheets, blankets and all the other off-label ways we protect patients’ skin when positioning them for surgery. The fluid-filled pads easily conform to pressure points and can be disinfected after use. They’re available in a set of 6 diverse shapes, which offer versatility when placing patients of different shapes and sizes in various surgical positions.

10. Disinfect Your Mobile Devices

The use of personal mobile devices in the OR is a hot-button topic. Proponents of the technology argue smart phones and tablets provide surgical team members with instant access to clinically important information and the ability to use a host of helpful surgery-centric apps. Opponents believe that staff members who bring personal devices into the OR are tempted to surf the web and check social media instead of focusing on safe patient care. We all can agree that staff are never without their mobile devices and the high-touch screens are reservoirs for microorganisms. Thankfully, the ReadyDock uses germicidal light to disinfect the devices your staff carry into the OR in less than a minute. If you allow smartphones and tablets into the OR, staff should disinfect the screens before they bring them into the room. OSM