Scientist's hand holding petri dish infected with Staphylococcus Aureus bacteria on black background

The general manager of Optisolve, a company whose technology helps to locate where pathogens are hidden on surfaces, says the results of a 2017 study demonstrate why healthcare facilities are using imaging technologies.

In the university study, researchers swabbed more than 150 environmental surfaces in a hospital and then analyzed these cultures. The tests revealed that S. aureus was on nearly a quarter of the hospital surfaces. Researchers also determined MRSA was found on approximately 6 percent of the test surfaces.

“That the pathogens are located on doorknobs is certainly no surprise to the professional cleaning industry,” says Brad Evans in a press statement from Optisolve. “My concern is that before these tests were taken, it appears the hospital was unaware of this situation. Further, because the testing procedure [they used] is slow, it makes me wonder how many people may have come into contact with these pathogens before they were detected.”

It’s examples such as this that cause healthcare facilities to use imaging technologies to help detect if pathogens are present on surfaces, according to Optisolve.

With this technology, information “can be delivered quickly, hopefully putting a dent in the spread of disease in health care settings,” says Evans.