Anti-bacterial film available for touchscreen medical devices
Display and embedded solutions provider Review Display Systems has announced the availability of a nano-silver anti-bacterial laminate film that can be used to enhance the safety of touchscreen-based healthcare equipment.
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has brought the continued use of touchscreen-based display systems into sharp focus during recent months. The cleanliness and hygiene of touch monitors used by the public or located in healthcare facilities has become significantly more important.
Interactive touchscreen-based display systems are known hotspots for bacteria and germs. Review Display Systems anti-bacterial technology can help to eliminate 99.9% of microbial bacteria traditionally found on these high-contact touch surfaces. Without the film, bacteria can live on the touchscreen surface and can quickly spread to others who interact with the device.
Justin Coleman, displays division manager, Review Display Systems said: “The implementation of graphical user interfaces with touchscreen-based systems has become widespread across many industries. Maintaining consumer confidence that these systems can continue to be safely and effectively used is essential. The easy-to-apply, antimicrobial laminate film provides a strong and reliable defence against the continued existence of bacteria that come into contact with the surface of the touchscreen.”
Suitable for existing products or new system designs, applying the film is fast and simple, such that customers can self-laminate touchscreen-based display systems no matter what the type or size of product. The antimicrobial film is currently available in sizes up to 32-inch although bespoke, custom sizes can easily be prepared. The antimicrobial film can be placed over the exterior surface of a touchscreen to effectively combat harmful bacteria.
The antimicrobial film has a thickness of 155µm with an optical transparency of greater than 90%, and the backing adhesive is silicone based, easy to apply, resists bubbling, and seals effectively.
Nano-silver technology uses silver nano-particles. Silver ions are effective against multiple bacteria types and work by perforating the glycoprotein structure of the bacterial cell wall. Bacteria require protease for metabolism and reproduction, and silver ions undergo a chemical reaction with sulfhydryl, cause a denaturation of protein, rendering the bacteria inactive, unable to reproduce, and results in the death of the bacterial cell. Silver ions will revert to silver atoms upon the destruction of the bacterial cell and continue to remain on the surface of the film, maintaining its anti-bacterial effectiveness.
The Review Display Systems antimicrobial film has been tested with the JIS Z 2801 method - which tests the ability of plastics, metals, ceramics and other antimicrobial surfaces to inhibit the growth of micro-organisms or kill them - using E.coli and Staphylococcus aureus with a resulting anti-bacterial value of R≥2 (99.99%).