Page "Brass" Paragraph 17

In 2007, U. S. Department of Defense ’ s Telemedicine and Advanced Technologies Research Center ( TATRC ) began to study the antimicrobial properties of copper alloys, including four brasses ( C87610, C69300, C26000, C46400 ) in a multi-site clinical hospital trial conducted at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center ( New York City ), the Medical University of South Carolina, and the Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center ( South Carolina ).

Commonly touched items, such as bed rails, over-the-bed tray tables, chair arms, nurse's call buttons, IV poles, etc.

were retrofitted with antimicrobial copper alloys in certain patient rooms ( i. e., the “ coppered ” rooms ) in the Intensive Care Unit ( ICU ).

Early results disclosed in 2011 indicate that the coppered rooms demonstrated a 97 % reduction in surface pathogens versus the non-coppered rooms.

This reduction is the same level achieved by “ terminal ” cleaning regimens conducted after patients vacate their rooms.

Furthermore, of critical importance to health care professionals, the preliminary results indicated that patients in the coppered ICU rooms had a 40. 4 % lower risk of contracting a hospital acquired infection versus patients in non-coppered ICU rooms.

The U. S. Department of Defense investigation contract, which is ongoing, will also evaluate the effectiveness of copper alloy touch surfaces to prevent the transfer of microbes to patients and the transfer of microbes from patients to touch surfaces, as well as the potential efficacy of copper-alloy based components to improve indoor air quality.