Think about it: Cleaning crews routinely clean offices but are not permitted in an MRI suite for fear they might introduce metals that might be conducted into the scanner. The result? The MRI never gets cleaned. Meanwhile, hospitals and health care facilities struggle to prevent acquired infections including antibiotic-resistant MRSA and other bugs.

But what is the good of infection control if you're not cleaning the equipment that comes in contact with patients?

"Most MRI systems do not get cleaned in general. The vast majority are not cleaned because you cannot let a normal cleaning company in, due to the danger of any metal coming into the system. There have been so many accidents that people simply shy away from cleaning because of the risk," said former GE engineer Antonio Bayon. He and two colleagues have developed a new product to address the problem. The non-metallic cleaning tool, the MagnaWand, uses a disposable sponge that can be infused with any hospital-grade disinfectant.
"We came up with something non magnetic. You attach a disposable sponge. It comes with a STERIS disinfectant that is very efficient against MRSA but you can use any disinfectant," Bayon said. "This elongated wand has easily attached disposables and you spray the disinfectant on to the sponge, clean the magnet board and scanner, and detach and discard the sponge." (Since the user adds the disinfectant--it's not infused into the product during manufacturing--the MagnaWand did not require FDA approval.)

The problem is, the magic MagnaWand is a tough sell to hospitals ("Why clean the scanner now when we haven't cleaned it in five years? Why clean the CT when we don't clean the MRI?") It's also a tough sell to imaging centers ("Technicians don't have time to clean between patients, or even at the end of the day").

Bayon also contacted a major OEM since the product could also protect biomedical engineers who service the germ-ridden equipment. But he was turned down and so far, the product is not catching on.

However, things may change soon. Medicare and regulators are cracking down on hospital-acquired infections. This week, Oprah Winfrey brought the problem of MRSA infection to a national audience.

Maybe one day soon cleaning of imaging equipment will become standard practice in quality--and infection--control.

For further information, visit http://www.magnawand.net.

Read a cover story on infection control in the August 2009 issue of DOTmed Business News.

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