In a ground-breaking move in the field of anti-infective biomedical technology, Mater Hospital, North Sydney, has become the first Australian medical facility to deploy Ondine Biomedical Inc’s Steriwave® technology. This light-activated antimicrobial treatment is geared towards curtailing the rampant and damaging effect of hospital-acquired infections. Ondine Biomedical, a leading Canadian life sciences firm, has been spearheading advancements in this photodynamic technology with its effectiveness gaining increasing recognition worldwide.
Mater Hospital, a historic healthcare institution established in 1906, is a part of St. Vincent’s Health Australia Group, the largest not-for-profit health and aged care services provider in the country. Their adoption of Ondine’s Steriwave nasal decolonization system staggers expectations for improved patient outcomes, specifically among vulnerable and immunocompromised individuals. According to key medical professionals at Mater Hospital, this non-antibiotic solution has proven to be impactful in lowering rates of infection transmission from patients carrying high-risk pathogens in their nasal cavity.
Parallelly, Canada’s Vancouver General Hospital has shown immense faith in the Steriwave system. A recent study involving 13,493 patients over 14 years at VGH has shown Steriwave implementation resulted in a 66.5% reduction in surgical site infections (SSIs) following spine surgeries. These encouraging results, along with substantial cost-saving benefits, have led to a growing consensus recommending Steriwave as a standard pre-surgical infection prevention protocol for both elective and emergency spine operations.
CEO of Ondine Biomedical Inc. described the Steriwave system as a straightforward but potent two-step process involving the use of a proprietary light-activated antimicrobial applied to each nostril, which is then activated using a specific wavelength of red laser light. The resulting oxidative burst effectively destroys diverse types of pathogens without causing harmful long-term effects on the nasal microbiome. Unlike antibiotics where pathogen resistance can be a critical issue, photodisinfection therapy remains a formidable countermeasure against resistance.
The successful implementation and positive outcomes of Steriwave and associated light-activated antimicrobial technologies align well with global healthcare guidelines. Both the WHO Global guidelines for the prevention of surgical site infections and the recommendations by the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA) have endorsed the use of nasal decolonization pre-surgery.
This innovative antimicrobial treatment essentially shines a new light on hospital-based infection control, with an aim to significantly improve patient outcomes, reduce healthcare costs and ensure better infection control in hospitals.