London, November 2, 2006—An infection-resistant keyboard dreamt up at a London teaching hospital could save the NHS millions-of-pounds in the battle against superbugs like MRSA.

University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is about to become the first in the NHS to install the completely flat and easy to clean keyboards onto wards and other clinical areas. Research suggests the invention could cut MRSA cases at the trust by up to ten per cent.

The keyboards are equipped with timing devices to warn nursing staff when they need cleaning, and hidden sensors to ensure surfaces are cleaned properly with alcohol wipes.

They are already generating great interest in American hospitals after production started by US-based Esterline Advanced Input Systems who developed the keyboard and started manufacturing it around three months ago.

Research by microbiologists at UCLH – supported by NHS Connecting for Health which is delivering the national IT programme to hospitals - has shown bacterial levels on the keyboards fall by 70 per cent if they are cleaned every 12 hours.

This compares with keyboard covers – the devices currently used to combat the spread of bacteria – which are rarely cleaned and are a haven for bacteria. As a result, doctors and nurses who move between keyboards and patients without washing their hands can potentially spread bugs like MRSA.

The keyboards were the brainchild of UCLH consultant microbiologist Dr Peter Wilson and clinical scientist Dr Paul Ostro who dreamt-up the idea to coincide with the increasing computerisation of the NHS which will see every patient given an electronic record.

They wanted to ensure that as more computers were brought into the NHS the risk of infection did not increase. Studies at UCLH suggest that up to ten per cent of MRSA cases could be from keyboards.

Dr Ostro said: ‘It is a big problem because you can’t easily clean conventional computer keyboards - you cannot get between the keys. You cannot put water on them or fluids and therefore cannot clean the surfaces easily.’

Dr Wilson added: ‘Doctors and nurses were going from patient to the keyboard without washing their hands. That’s quite understandable because you would wash your hands between patients but not between a patient and a keyboard.

‘As we are going to be increasingly using computers we thought we would have to come up with a model that was very easy to clean to try to break the cycle of infection.’

After speaking with Esterline, the company developed a warning light alert system which activates every three or 12 hours. The light only switches off when hidden sensors on the keyboard are cleaned with an alcohol wipe.

An optical, sealed mouse has also been designed with a flat under-surface, as opposed to a rolling ball which collects bacteria.

‘Compliance with twice daily cleaning went up from 10-20 per cent with the keyboard covers to 87 per cent with the new model,’ said Dr Wilson.

‘The warning light is slightly irritating so people are more likely to take an alcohol wipe and clean the surface to switch it off – and of course they disinfect their own hands while doing it.’

The keyboards have a lifespan of up to four years, compared with two to three months for the covers. The UCLH hospital management board this month (October) approved the purchase of 2,000 which are expected to be delivered to the hospital early next year.

MRSA costs UCLH £1.9m every year mostly in prolonged inpatient stays. However the trust has calculated that the keyboards – which it has purchased at a reduced rate – will pay for themselves if they help cut the number of MRSA cases by an average of just ten a year.

Dr Wilson said: ‘This is a significant step forward in the battle against infections like MRSA. You can run education campaigns to get people to wash their hands more often but the impact only lasts for about eight weeks.

‘But with these keyboards you have got a constant reminder of the importance of washing your hands and keeping your computer clean.’

Brad Lawrence, president of Esterline Advanced Input Systems, said: ‘Everyone in his organisation is gratified to be playing a role in combating such a serious issue as hospital acquired infection.’

He added that the joint development of the Medigenic ® keyboard with UCLH has inspired a whole series of cleanable and infection resistant products that will lead to antimicrobial advancements in fighting the spread of MRSA and other harmful bacteria.

For more information call Ian Lloyd on 020 7380 9506.

Notes for editors:

• MRSA costs the NHS around £1 billion a year. Studies at UCLH suggest keyboards could account for a significant number of MRSA infections each year. In a recent study keyboards on the Intensive Care Unit became colonized with hospital flora within 12 hours of cleaning, and levels were similar on ordinary keyboards and those with moulded plastic covers.
• Nurses passed from patient to computer keyboard around five times an hour. MRSA was found in 21 per cent of samples from keyboards.
• Although covered keyboards are easier to clean, this is done irregularly because it is the responsibility of nursing and not domestic staff.
• Cleaning of keyboards every 12 hours (twice daily) reduces total bacterial levels by 71 per cent.
• The Medigenic® keyboard manufacturers Advanced Input Systems www.advanced-input.com) are a wholly-owned subsidiary of Esterline Technologies Corporation which manufactures standard and custom control panels and input systems. Customers include virtually all major medical capital equipment providers. Esterline (www.esterline.com) isis a leading specialty manufacturer of highly engineered products for aerospace, defence and medical markets. For more information contact: Randy Noland on 001 208 765 8000 ext 1305 or email rnoland@advanced-input.com