New weapon in hospitals….. A computer keyboard?!?

Catching another illness while in hospital has become another concern when you go in for treatment. We arrive to be treated for one illness, and some people are coming out with another. The hygiene levels in wards have to be stepped up. America alone has had 2 million people pick up an illness while in hospital last year, which results in thousands of deaths. New procedures are being implimented to keep our patients safe -and one you may have never expected: A computer keyboard.

Using a computer keyboard to stop infection spreading may seem like a strange concept, but Medigenic’s new keyboard is gonna help do that. The keyboard has no raised keys and is completely flat, so the dirt and germs that gets trapped under the keys is a thing of the past. Medical staff arent washing their hands after using the keyboard, unaware of the bacteria in a keyboard. It also has a timer, to alert staff when the keyboard next needs sterilising to keep hygiene standards high. It can also be locked, so when your wiping it down you wont enter any eronious data into the computer. When its being used at night or in low light situations the keyboard has a backlight feature, allowing you to use it anytime.

The keyboard has just been awarded the 2009 medical design excellence awards competition, which shows how seriously its being taken. While the keyboards are priced at $140, which is a little pricey for a keyboard, in the long run itll be worth it -your patients will thank you. The keyboard may have been manufactured in America, but it was created and designed in London’s university college hospital. In surveys conducted the results have shown that the bacteria on the keyboards on going down by 70% when they are cleaned every 12 hours. In a few years we may see this keyboard become standard at the hospital to cut down on germs in hospitals, and concentrate on the patients illness more.

Visit here for wireless keyboards or wired keyboards.