Surface Medical
Enhancing Infection Control with a Surface Repair Patch

While the outbreak of the novel coronavirus has created an unprecedented situation around the world, it has also starkly highlighted the importance of cleanliness, hygiene, proper sanitation to avoid the transmission of virus and pathogens. More than ever, it is important now to ensure that hygiene practices in healthcare institutions are ideal. Surfaces of commonly used medical equipment and high-contract communal surfaces in healthcare facilities are the biggest vectors for spreading infectious diseases. Hospital beds, stretchers, damaged mattress covers, soft surfaces like vinyl, and other high-touch surfaces are prone to damages, scratches, wear and tear, and harbor pathogens that contribute to healthcare-acquired infections (HAIs). In American hospitals alone, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that HAIs account for an estimated 1.7 million infections and 99,000 associated deaths each year. While surgical or duct tapes are being used across many facilities to address this problem, ineffectively, there is a lack of a cost-effective and clinically-validated solution.

With the Canada-based medical devices company Surface Medical’s clinically-validated CleanPatch, the scenario has completely changed. CleanPatch is an award-winning, first-in-class medical surface repair patch for hospital beds, mattresses, and stretchers that restores damaged surfaces to an intact and hygienic state. CleanPatch is designed to repair over 90 percent of the cuts, tears, and punctures common to mattresses and many other hospital surfaces and is supported by independent laboratory testing and clinical evaluations. The solution is, in fact, proving to be a boon when it comes to the global COVID-19 pandemic. Hospital occupancy is at an all-time high, and healthcare facilities cannot afford to lose the service of their beds, mattresses, and other equipment, even for a single day. In such an unprecedented situation, CleanPatch is empowering hospitals to repair their damaged mattresses quickly and properly without compromising patient safety, all while saving money.

CleanPatch is a first-in-class medical surface repair patch for hospital beds, mattresses, and stretchers that restores damaged surfaces to an intact and hygienic state

Iwain Lam, president and CEO of Surface Medical, says, “Our solution is similar to putting a Band-Aid over a wound. All a healthcare worker has to do when they identify damage on any equipment is to clean the surface and then apply CleanPatch on to the damaged area.” Within 60 seconds, the equipment is ready for use. Moreover, what makes CleanPatch unique is it is cost-effective, reduces waste, and helps address the problem on the spot. Hospitals do not have to take the defective equipment out of service or spend thousands of dollars trying to replace it. CleanPatch saves about 95 percent of the cost hospitals spend on repair and maintenance services. “The icing on the cake is the fact that CleanPatch is the market’s first and only FDA, Health Canada, and CE-Mark registered medical surface repair product,” informs Lam.

Surface Medical also offers various versions of CleanPatch: CleanPatch-P and CleanPatch-V. While CleanPatch-P is a gel positioner repair patch that safely extends the life of gel pads and positioners, CleanPatch-V is a repair patch for upholstery vinyl that can be applied to wheelchairs, examination tables, treatment tables, rehab equipment, geriatric chairs, patient furniture, and other vinyl surfaces. Going beyond acute care hospitals, CleanPatch’s application extends to long-term care hospitals, patient transportations such as ambulances, various clinics like chiropractic, rehab centers, dental, and even veterinary.

Currently, CleanPatch products are in use in thousands of healthcare facilities across 15 countries globally. For the road ahead, Surface Medical aims to expand its services across other locations, broadening its geographical footprint worldwide. In light of this, the firm is presently working on product distribution in Asia and the Middle East. Alongside, Surface Medical is also looking to build its partner and distribution network. “We will continue to create innovative products that ensure effective infection control and facilitate patient as well as practitioner safety, and work to make CleanPatch a global brand,” concludes Lam.