Problem and Product Summary
The Center for Disease Control and the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued a list of guidelines for health care facilities to decrease their rates of inpatient acquired infections. Medical facilities are dealing with decreased re-imbursements from CMS and private insurers, if an inpatient acquires a possible preventable event. Hospitals are being scrutinized by the government, private insurers and the public. Healthcare facilities are being compared to other like institutions and are posting infection rates on the internet. Additionally there has been an explosion of antibiotic resistant cases. Therefore, it is imperative we focus on improving patient’s care and outcomes. We have developed and patented a product that will reduce the likelihood of a patient developing an infection.

Current state of Practice
Currently, medical personnel use a long catheter called a Yankaeur to remove a patient’s oral secretions. The patient may be on a ventilator or may just need assistance to clear his own secretions. The oral catheter is placed into a patient’s mouth and suction is applied to remove saliva and sputum. Then the catheter is rinsed with water and hung on the bed, bedside equipment or any other convenient place in or out of the original package. The oral catheter is used over and over repeatedly, introducing and reintroducing bacteria into an already compromised patient’s mouth and throat. Many hospitals replace these catheters every 24 hours. Some hospitals use oral catheters that can be covered after use, but again, we are still reintroducing a contaminated oral suction catheter repeatedly into a sick patient’s mouth. This practice affects hundreds of thousands of critically ill patients and places them in jeopardy to develop a respiratory infection. There is no current sanitizing product for oral catheters on the market. Bedside real-estate is at a premium so keeping boxes of extra catheters is not an option. Additionally, it is neither practical nor green to dispose of the catheter after each use.

Our solution
We have developed a product called KloGlo™. It is an oral catheter sanitizing receptacle. It not only cleans the catheter between uses, but also provides safe, clean and efficient storage for the catheter when it is not in use. The nurse or respiratory therapist cleans the patient’s mouth, rinses the catheter, and then places the catheter into the KloGlo™ device. The KloGlo™ automatically starts the cleaning process and is completed in approximately 3-5 minutes. If medical personal should need the catheter prior to cleaning completion the catheter can be removed and used as needed.

KloGlo™ uses UVC lighting for optimal germicidal eradication. It is green technology providing safe and effective cleaning of the oral catheter. This device could be used in hospitals, skilled care, and home care. KloGlo™ could be used by virtually every critical care unit nationally and internationally. Ultimately, KloGlo™ has the potential to not only greatly reduce hospital acquired respiratory infections, but possibly other hospital infections as well.