ENGS 89/90 Reports
Year of Graduation
2024
Sponsor
Devon Anderson, MD, PhD and Dennis Anderson, PE
Project Advisor
Kim Samkoe
Instructor
Solomon Diamond
Document Type
Report
Publication Date
2024
Abstract
Surgical Site Infections induce significant risk to surgical patient quality of life, financial wellbeing, and hospital length of stay. By determining the efficacy and degree of tissue damage caused by 222 nm UV radiation in disinfecting surgical sites intraoperatively, our work provides the necessary data for our sponsors to make surgical operations safer and less expensive. While previous research conducted on the safety of 222 nm UV light on mammalian skin has verified the technology's safe use for human eye and skin contact, equivalent depth of research does not exist for internal organs and is required for the implementation of this technology into the operating room. Our research characterizes the sterilization efficacy and the tissue damage caused by 222 nm light in comparison with carcinogenic 254 nm light. Testing was conducted on mouse skin, muscle, liver, intestine, and sciatic nerve which were exposed to scaled doses of UV light and analyzed through an immunohistochemical assessment. Simultaneously, the efficacy of the light was verified through cell culture analysis on both gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria, ensuring a 15 mJ/cm2 dosage could effectively disinfect Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus epidermidis. A lower 7.5 mJ/cm2 dosage was also utilized to look at the differing resistance of each bacteria. With this biological research completed, our sponsors can move forward with the prototyping of the UV lamp. The successful implementation of this device could prevent thousands of SSIs annually, saving lives and reducing the monetary and physical resources expended by hospitals and patients.
Dartmouth Digital Commons Citation
Duncanson, Aiden; Edington, David; Ellison, Daniel; Tamayo-Guevara, Ericka; Valenta, Marcus; and Zelten, Elizabeth, "UV Intraoperative Therapy" (2024). ENGS 89/90 Reports. 101.
https://digitalcommons.dartmouth.edu/engs89_90/101
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