Keeping Surgical Infections at Bay With a Cocoon of Air

Shrouding incisions in a layer of purified air reduces the bacteria count by more than 80 percent

By Clay Dillow Posted 10.10.2011 at 4:04 pm 10 Comments

Nimbic Systems' Air Barrier System Nimbic Systems, Inc.

A Texas company has received FDA clearance for a new kind of medical device aimed at reducing incision-site infections that result from surgical procedures. But rather than battling microorganisms with pharmaceutical cocktails or some kind of post-surgical treatment, Nimbic Systems’ Air Barrier System (ABS) keeps surgical sites free of bacteria and other bugs by creating a cocoon of purified air around the incision site for the duration of the surgery.

Infections picked up in the operating room can be as serious--if not more so--than the condition being treated by the surgery itself. Aside from threatening patient health, they are also costly--a bad Staphylococcus infection, for instance, can drive treatment costs into the six figures per patient. ABS aims to curb those infection by ensuring that pathogens never get close to a potentially susceptible site during surgery.

It’s a relatively simple setup: a reusable blower unit feeds filtered air into a sterile, disposable nozzle that is fixed in place adjacent to the incision. ABS then keeps a constant flow of purified air streaming onto the site, creating a kind of air cushion that keeps whatever microbes might be lurking around the O.R. at bay. This is particularly critical for long-duration surgeries, like procedures that implant prostheses or things like spinal or vascular operations.

As such, ABS got its first approval for use in hip replacement surgeries, where the patient’s body is open to the ambient air for an extended period. In trials, ABS proved to reduce the presence of bacteria and other micro-stuff by more than 84 percent. That’s a lot of potential infection rendered essentially harmless. Trials later this year will explore whether ABS can achieve similar results for spinal and femoral operations.

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10 Comments

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aarontco

10/10/11 at 4:53 pm

Sounds like miniaturized cleanroom technology for medicine. Hopefully it can be done at an affordable price.

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dorin

10/10/11 at 5:52 pm

that is the power of free heath care my friends.

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10/10/11 at 8:19 pm

First, YEA for medical science and killing bad guy germs!
Second, yes for more future medical science YEA! I do not wish to be sick and I do not wish to leave from the hospital with a doggie bag of illness too.

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drchuck1

10/11/11 at 4:57 am

i am currently recovering from minor surgury that resulted in a fairly minor infection that caused me alot of mental duress (worry wart), still taking antibiotics, would have been nice if this was available; can't imagine having a bad Staphylococcus infection: gotta love better medical procedures, if only they would research how to lower the costs, cheers

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muhaddib

10/11/11 at 8:26 am

I used to work in pharmaceuticals. This is the basis of manufacturing drugs, to maintain the constant pressure difference between rooms, and to always use only purified air. How come, that this easy to build technology is not in use at every OR?

Or to work in UV light? The 99% of the body of the staff is covered anyway, and over the patient, there is a different setting of lights. UV light should shower every corner of the OR especially the medical equipment.

If in manufacturing it is a must to use 70% ethyl-alcohol to disinfect your hands periodic - I have worked in a clean room, where it was required every minute - how come equipment is just lying on the table?

I understand the complexity of a surgery - or at least I can imagine - but these rules are there in pharmaceuticals, whether we like it or not, and even if it is very uncomfortable sometimes. I know, surgeons need as many space, and peace around them, and the ease of access to their equipment, but these simple things could save thousands of lives, without the drastic increase of costs.

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manhunter098

10/11/11 at 10:51 am

Its really a wonder we have not applied this technology already.

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st5cowboy

10/11/11 at 4:10 pm

This sounds great, however, why not go one step further? Have the purified air deliver either a micro alcohol mist to the site or evaporate the alcohol and put it through the small fan to kill airborne pathogens? The only drawback I can see is that you would have to extract the air so the staff does not get high from the alcohol.

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sdself

10/12/11 at 12:21 am

Hello, I am the inventor of the Air Barrier System and Nimbic Systems' president.

I very much liked the comments. My hope is that the ABS can help change the way healthcare addresses airborne sources of infection-causing bacteria.

We have a video online if you care to look at it.

nimbicsystems.com/abs.html#demovideo or on Youtube at: youtu.be/D6VbjlIOhNA

Sean Self

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aarontco

10/12/11 at 4:01 pm

@muhaddib
It might look like equipment is just "laying around" in an OR, but I assure you that they prepare sterile surgical fields when they are doing the actual procedures. They don't just reach in a drawer, rummage around and yank out some rusty old scalpel or other equipment.

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aarontco

10/12/11 at 4:03 pm

Also, I forgot to add, but UV light is also dangerous to the human body with excess exposure. So, even though it kills germs, it can also cause skin cancer (yes, uv-a and uv-b are different)

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