Bacteria-Killing Light Fixtures One of Top 10 Technologies Poised to Affect Healthcare

ECRI Institute’s 2016 Top 10 Hospital C-Suite Watch List Includes Indigo-Clean™ as a tool hospital leaders should consider in planning healthcare improvements

Kenosha, Wisconsin
13 January 2017

A respected, independent non-profit technology organization has included Indigo-Clean™ on its list of top 10 technologies that healthcare executives should watch in 2016.

ECRI Institute’s Top 10 Hospital C-Suite Watch List draws on the organization’s nearly 50 years of experience evaluating and providing technical assistance on the safety, efficacy and cost-effectiveness of healthcare technologies. The free report is intended to help hospital leaders evaluate new technologies that provide higher value, better patient outcomes and lower costs.

Indigo-Clean™, a light fixture that installs easily into the ceiling of any room, uses light-emitting diodes (LEDs) with a wavelength output of 405 nanometers (nm) to automatically, safely and continuously inactivate a range of harmful bacteria that are known causes of healthcare-acquired infections (HAIs), including MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus), and VRE (Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus).

The Indigo-Clean™ technology is a continuous environmental disinfection technology vs. the episodic methods of disinfection used today, such as UV light, mists, foggers and chemical cleaners.

“While episodic methods are effective, the results are short-lived as bacteria immediately re-populate the space. Indigo-Clean’s™ ability to continuously kill harmful bacteria on hard and soft surfaces bolsters the healthcare facility’s cleaning efforts,” said Cliff Yahnke, Ph.D., Kenall’s Director of Clinical Affairs for Indigo-Clean. “And unlike high-tech systems that clean only when they are activated by a trained operator, Indigo-Clean™ is automatic which minimizes human error and room downtime.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), on any given day, around 1 in every 25 U.S. hospital patients contracts at least one infection in a health care setting. A CDC survey estimates that 75,000 hospital patients with hospital-acquired infections died during their hospitalization in 2011, and increased prevalence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria is estimated to kill up to 99,000 Americans and infect another 1.7 million each year.

“We understand the pressures U.S. hospitals are under to improve the healthcare environment and benefit patient health outcomes,” said Yahnke, who leads the Indigo-Clean Clinical Partners Program. “Our Clinical Partners Program provides evaluation opportunities, with clinical support direct from the manufacturer to give healthcare providers confidence that Indigo-Clean™ is an innovative, effective and practical solution to an age-old problem.”

Clinical evaluations of the technology are underway at several U.S. hospitals to demonstrate the effectiveness of Indigo-Clean™. Froedtert and the Medical College of Wisconsin, Froedtert Hospital in Milwaukee just completed the second phase of its evaluation. While final results have yet to be published, initial findings are promising, showing a 52 percent continuous bacterial reduction in the hospital’s Gastroenterology (GI) Endoscope Clinic’s waiting room.

Similar evaluations in patient rooms are underway at United Hospital System, Kenosha Medical Center Campus. Hospitals in Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Nevada and New Jersey will soon begin conducting their own Indigo-Clean™ evaluations.

The Indigo-Clean™ technology was discovered in 2002 by researchers at Scotland’s University of Strathclyde and has been clinically proven to reduce harmful bacteria up to 70 percent beyond routine disinfection efforts. It was first used in 2008 to reduce bacteria linked to hospital-acquired infections at the Glasgow Royal Infirmary, a major teaching hospital in the U.K., and has been the subject of more than 30 peer-reviewed journals and conference presentations. The University was granted the U.S. patent on the technology in 2014 and selected Kenall as the exclusive licensee to commercialize it for the North American healthcare market.

“Environmental disinfection is becoming a focus for institutions as part of their patient’s continuum of care. Advanced technologies like Indigo-Clean™ can play an important role in this effort by providing continuous bacteria reduction without the need for additional staffing,” said Yahnke.

“Hospitals present a very challenging environment for infection control because they provide around-the-clock care, often require quick room turnover, and serve already-compromised patients,” said Yahnke.

The Indigo-Clean™ Clinical Partners Program is open to interested healthcare facilities. For additional information, visit www.Indigo-Clean.com, Facebook or Twitter or call (800) 4-KENALL.


About ECRI Institute
ECRI Institute is a nonprofit organization that dedicates itself to bringing the discipline of applied scientific research to healthcare to discover which medical procedures, devices, drugs and processes enable improved patient care. As pioneers in this science for nearly 50 years, ECRI Institute marries experience and independence with the objectivity of evidence-based research. Strict conflict-of-interest guidelines ensure objectivity. ECRI Institute is designated an Evidence-based Practice Center by the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. ECRI Institute PSO is listed as a federally certified Patient Safety Organization by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Find ECRI Institute online at www.ecri.org and also on Facebook and on Twitter.

About Kenall, manufacturer of Indigo-Clean™
Indigo-Clean™ is an affiliate of Kenall Manufacturing, which has earned a reputation for lighting challenging applications. Since its inception in 1963, Kenall has been known for superior quality, exceptional value, and durable solutions, and it is proud to provide sealed lighting for containment or clean spaces, security lighting for detention facilities, and specialized healthcare and transportation applications. The vast majority of Kenall products comply with the Buy American Act: manufactured in the United States with more than 50% of the component cost of US origin. For additional information on Indigo-Clean™, visit our website at legrand.us/indigo-clean or contact us directly at 262-891-9200.

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Media Contact:
Michele McCawley
Phone: (262) 891-9744
E-mail: mmccawley@kenall.com