Antimicrobial Copper: Japan looks to antimicrobial copper olympics

[hr]The germ fighting performance of Antimicrobial Copper surfaces at a Japanese hospital could help support moves to use it in the public areas of Tokyo’s ‘Summer Olympics’ in 2020.[hr]
The study of 28 Antimicrobial Copper beds and over-bed tables took place at the Hitachi Medical Centre in Hitachi City north east of Tokyo early this year following completion of a new hospital building.
Regular monitoring showed that the copper surfaces had “significantly lower levels of General, Staphylococcus, and Bacillus on bed railing and over-bed tables” than the control beds.
The Japanese Government helped fund the fit out as part of ongoing discussions with the Japan Institute of Medical Materials Distribution Research on options to use Antimicrobial Copper surfaces at the 2020 Olympics, a move the JIMMDR helped promote with copper door hardware and rails in its newly opened offices in Tokyo.
Healthcare Record
According to the Executive Director of the Hitachi Medical Centre, Mr Shigefumi Goto, the opportunity to host the study was also a useful way for the hospital to gauge its performance in a real health setting ahead of any larger installation or investment.
“I did not think of using copper in my hospital until I became aware that it was being utilized in medical environments around the world, but now the monitoring tests proves the antimicrobial effect of copper is significant and I feel relieved that I made the right decision of installing them,” Mr Goto said.
“Since we are so encouraged by the test results, I would hope to use more Antimicrobial Copper products like door handles in future.”
The Hitachi Medical Centre is now the ninth hospital or medical facility in Japan just this year to install some form of Antimicrobial Copper hardware and equipment as part of their infection strategy.
The other eight are located in parts of the country, including Arakawa Hospital, Kitasato University Hospital, Nagara Medical Center, Nihonkai General Hospital, Sanmu Medical Center, Shin-Yurigaoka General Hospital, Shinsei Hospital and Minami Tohoku General Hospital.
The range of products being installed has been just as diverse, including Bed rails, IV drip poles, door furniture, hand rails and computer input devices.
Copper Now in  US & Canada Top 10
The Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health-or CADTH-has named Antimicrobial Copper in its first “Top 10 New and Emerging Health Technology Watch List”.
Chosen from a list of 75 “technologies”, CADTH said their final choices were based on their “potential impact on clinical effectiveness, patient survival, quality of life, patient safety, or costs to the health care system”.
CADTH is an independent, not-for-profit agency that delivers timely, evidence- based information to health care leaders about the effectiveness and efficiency of health technologies.
The Canadian ranking follows a similar move by the ECRI Institute in the US-and which also covers Asia from its base in Malaysia-earlier in the year when it named Antimicrobial Copper surfaces as one of the Top 10 health technologies to watch in 2014.
For more information visit  www.cadth.ca/en/products/environmental-scanning/overview/cnesh/