Xenex LightStrike Germ-Zapping Robot
As Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health resumed patient services at Lancaster General Hospital and other locations in late spring, the health and safety of our patients, staff and community remained the highest priority. Among our rigorous safety protocols is the use of a germ-zapping robot to disinfect patient rooms.
The Xenex® LightStrike™ Robot generates bursts of high intensity, short-wavelength ultraviolet (UV) light to kill disease-causing pathogens of all types, including coronavirus. Scott Garrety, director of Guest Services at LG Health, explains.
“Light from the sun includes UVA and UVB rays, which can make it through the Earth’s ozone layer, as well as UVC rays, which cannot. Because viruses and bacteria were not previously exposed to UVC, they never developed defenses against it. As a result, UVC light deactivates these germs and prevents them from reproducing,” he said.
One five-minute light treatment from the robot is enough to destroy all viruses and bacteria within a two-meter area. To protect the safety of staff, the robot operates behind closed doors, with no people in the room. After the light turns off, it is safe for housekeeping staff to enter the room and clean it without the risk of exposure to coronavirus or any other infectious germs.
LG Health purchased its first Xenex robot in 2013 as a way to reduce hospital-acquired infections such as C. difficile, a particularly difficult spore to kill. The UVC treatment completely destroyed it in minutes.
“The coronavirus that causes COVID-19 is easier to kill than C. diff. When the pandemic hit, we realized that having these robots put us in a better position to protect our community,” Garrety said.
Clorox also manufactures a UVC robot, and LG Health has several of each brand. In addition to COVID-19 patient rooms, the robots are brought in as needed for isolation discharges, in operating rooms, and in the Emergency Department.