- April 23, 2024 11:10 am
- California
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Brad Whitchurch
Founder & CEO
The ongoing impact of COVID-19 has raised awareness and forced organizations to adopt healthcare’s best practices within infection control. In particular, this includes the role of asset management for high-touch computer equipment and devices frequently contacted by employees and customers. A rapidly growing healthcare technology company, Seal Shield, may have been ahead of its time years ago, but certainly now, never more vital in serving public health. Founded in 2006, Seal Shield was the first to recognize the threat of cross-contamination and hospital-acquired infection through contact with computer peripherals and equipment in healthcare. The company introduced the industry’s first waterproof & dishwasher-safe computer keyboards in 2007, and is now certified with Clorox, Lysol, and other EPA-approved medical-grade cleaners and disinfectants.
Seal Shield has followed a path of continuous innovation with waterproof and washable keyboards as a starting point. A customer-centric orientation toward finding solutions guides everything they do, from new products for specific customer applications to applying new and unique antimicrobial polymer technologies that protect products from microorganisms that can cause degradation.
This technology is also now in their clear multi-layer screen protectors that are custom fit to specific medical monitors and displays and other touch screens in commercial and consumer-facing environments, such as restaurants and retail spaces.
The company has also moved quickly to lead the industry in UV-C disinfection technology. The “ElectroClaveTM” has been designed in every respect to be the state-of-the-art standard in the industry. To that end, the ElectroClave has been rigorously
tested, with data submitted to the EPA. The EPA’s review confirmed that the ElectroClave is 99.9% effective against Staphylococcus, E. coli, MRSA, and CRE on non-porous hard surfaces.ElectroClave provides an all-in-one solution for mobile device management and UV-C disinfection by offering cloud-based oversight and 360° disinfection technology, destroying pathogens on all sides of electronic devices. While most other alternatives on the market today use mercury-based light (bulb) sources, the Seal Shield ElectroClave disinfection enclosure features a mercury-free LED light source. This is important in healthcare settings.
The ElectroClave also features a positive air pressure environment to keep dust particles, which can interfere with disinfection, out of the enclosed chamber. And the machine features a unique design that manages UV-C cycle doses from all sides within the chamber for 360 disinfection, compared to other designs that may not provide such complete disinfection or rely upon mirrors in an attempt to achieve this. And in the end, it ultimately comes down to staff utilization and adherence to established cleaning protocols for their mobile electronics, portable equipment, and personal items, and to manage that, one needs tracking. Data management is provided for compliance reports and audits… when and how often items have been disinfected and has the machine been operating at 100% peak performance.
Seal Shield technologies support the infection prevention efforts of hospitals, healthcare settings, commercial and public organizations in the fight against infectious cross-contamination. The Seal Shield ElectroClave UV-C disinfection enclosure, with ‘smart’ SaaS data management, is likely the most advanced of its kind on the market today. But more broadly, through the development of waterproof and washable high-touch computer peripherals, chemical-resistant polymers (for medical-grade cleaners & disinfectants), UV-C disinfection machines, or antimicrobial agents to prevent microorganisms from degrading product materials, Seal Shield technologies enhance the capabilities of any organization attempting to reduce infection risk.
The company recently completed a large-scale install of their ElectroClave UV-C disinfection system with Stanford Health Care, who chose the Seal Shield solution after a thorough review of competitive UV disinfection alternatives. “Additionally, the US Centers For Disease Control And Prevention (CDC) has standardized on the ElectroClave UV-C disinfection system, along with Seal Shield medical-grade washable computer keyboards and mice for their employee workstations,” says Bradley Whitchurch, CEO, Founder of Seal Shield. “And we’ve also installed our Screen Protector solutions for Panera Bread, in support of the company’s corporate-led infection prevention efforts for their stores. Altogether, our products have been helping to mitigate the risk of cross-contamination across a broad range of industry needs – within healthcare, commercial, and all public and communal environments.”
Before COVID-19, healthcare was already keenly aware and engaged with technologies to reduce hospital-acquired infections (HAIs). But a lot has changed with COVID-19. Now every organization is looking at this issue and asking themselves those same questions. “But more than just products and solutions, Seal Shield has been on this mission for many years now,” says Whitchurch. “We can bring our customers the expertise that comes with our innovation and experience.” Seal Shield’s mission is to prevent infections and save lives through technology and data management, thereby improving healthcare outcomes, supporting infection prevention within the industry, and serving the greater public health interest. Bradley elucidates, “2020 has taught us all that this mission is of a broader consequence and importance as we go forward, and Seal Shield is actively engaged in ongoing innovation to serve these needs.”
“The EPA’s review confirmed that the “ElectroClaveTM” is 99.9% effective against Staphylococcus, E. coli, MRSA, and CRE on non-porous hard surfaces.”
