FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Kimi Mann
(323) 256-5081
kimi@onrampcomm.com
Containing TB’s Rising Threat to Hospital Patients and Staff
New Portable Anteroom System Effectively Isolates ORs and Procedure Rooms
During Treatment of Known/Suspected TB Patients
LOS ANGELES, CA (MAY 9, 2006) --- Mintie Technologies’ new IcoRoom™ Portable
Anteroom System will help hospitals protect their patients and staff members against
the spread of airborne TB bacteria from infected patients as well as other airborne
infectious diseases. The IcoRoom innovation comes at a time when the Centers for
Disease Control report that cases of drug-resistant tuberculosis are on the rise.
The IcoRoom System consists of a lightweight, collapsible anteroom and a high-volume,
high-efficiency HEPA filtration negative air machine. IcoRoom is designed to replicate
permanent negative pressure anterooms, which the CDC has identified as effective in
containing airborne infectious droplet nuclei (AIDN) such as TB. Clinically-tested and
proven to deliver the same benefits, the IcoRoom is priced at $7,500 – a fraction of the
cost of constructing a permanent anteroom – and provides hospitals the flexibility to
isolate multiple surgical and procedure rooms with each System.
“We developed IcoRoom as a result of insights we gained working with the infection
control professional community,” said Doug Erickson, a healthcare regulatory
compliance consultant to Mintie Technologies. “At both the professional association and
individual hospital level, we learned that the HEPA-filtered portable anteroom had the
potential to be an everyday solution for rapid-response isolation needs, particularly for
isolating TB patients.”
TB cases are most prevalent in states with high urban density such as California, New
York, and Texas, and the CDC recently reported a 20% increase in cases of antibioticresistant strains of the bacteria. This increase has renewed interest in TB containment
methods. “Patients with these highly-resistant strains of M. tuberculosis need to be
treated surgically; their emergence is a potent reminder that TB remains a formidable
threat,” Erickson said. “IcoRoom offers hospitals a rapid-response, clinically-effective,
and low-cost solution for protecting their patient population and personnel without
treatment disruptions or costly construction modifications.”
Clinical testing in operating room environments – where maintaining directional airflow
is critically important – also demonstrated that portable anterooms are superior to inroom air scrubbers in isolating AIDN. “Since IcoRoom functions completely outside the
operating room or procedure room,” Erickson added, “it eliminates introducing dirty
equipment into the OR and cuts down on space intrusion, ventilation disruption, and
noise introduced by portable air scrubbers.”
The IcoRoom portable anteroom is made with a durable, flame-rated polyfabric
envelope and high-strength, collapsible frame. Paired with the HEPA filtration negative
air machine, IcoRoom complies with the latest CDC protocols for containing M.
tuberculosis AIDN. Setting up the IcoRoom takes less than thirty minutes, and takedown is fast and easy, with a simple push-button frame collapse. IcoRoom’s portability
and ease of installation also make it valuable for creating temporary airborne infection
isolation rooms.
IcoRoom will be introduced at the annual Association for Professionals in Infection
Control and Epidemiology conference in Tampa, FL beginning June 11, 2006.
For more information on the IcoRoom System, and for high-resolution images, please
visit http://onrampcomm.com/press_room_home.php.
About Mintie Technologies
Los Angeles-based Mintie Technologies (www.mintietechnologies.com) is the market
leader in designing and developing specialized containment products for airborne
particulates, infection control, and bio-security. The company’s products include the
ECUTM and ECU2TM line of environmental containment solutions for hospital
construction and HRSA surge protection, the IcoRoomTM System for clinical infection
control, and HEPA-filtered air purification and vacuum equipment. Mintie Technologies
is affiliated with Mintie Corporation, providers of indoor air quality solutions to the
healthcare, industrial and commercial sectors for over 65 years.
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