Currently, as a countermeasure against infectious diseases, disinfectant sprays such as alcohol are placed at the entrance of many buildings, and visitors are required to disinfect their hands. However, this countermeasure is not effective for parts other than the hands, and many microorganisms are carried by adhering to clothing and hair. Therefore, we developed a gate-type sterilization device that sterilizes with ozone gas. As a field test, we installed it at the entrance of an actual building, measured the ozone gas concentration around the equipment, and conducted a viable bacteria test on the surrounding floors. As a result, it was confirmed that the ozone concentration inside and outside the sterilization device was lower than the safety standard. As a result, it was confirmed that the ozone concentration inside and outside the sterilization device was lower than the safety standard. The number of microorganisms in the air decreased after the operation of the device. Furthermore, a microbial count test on the floor showed that the number of bacteria detected on the interior side of the building was lower than on the entrance side of the building with the sterilization device in between.

Medical technologies related to laparoscopic surgery and orthopedic surgery have made remarkable progress. With these advances, surgical instruments have become more and more complex. The complex structures have many gaps, and if contaminants such as blood or body fluids adhere to them, they are difficult to clean.

In terms of water temperature in pre-cleaning process of washer disinfector, there is a report that protein denaturation may occur when the temperature of the process is higher than 50°C. It is essential to investigate the relationship between water temperature and cleaning effectiveness in the pre-cleaning process in order to achieve efficient and reliable cleaning performance of medical instruments. In this study, we investigated the effect of water temperature in pre-cleaning process on removal of blood.

Compared to pre-cleaning process with non-heated or 40°C water, the process with water at 50°C resulted in a higher amount of residual protein after the main cleaning. In cleaning with Washer-Disinfector, the water temperature of the pre-cleaning process is an important factor to obtain high cleaning performance. Based on the results of this study, it is desirable to perform the pre-cleaning process with water at 40°C or lower.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had various influences on hospital clinical activities. However, which factors significantly prevented hospitals for providing ordinary patient care during the COVID-19 pandemic have not yet been determined. We sent a questionnaire to 4,825 hospitals with over 100 beds. They were asked how many ventilators, ECMO machines, hemodialysis machines and portable negative-pressure systems their hospitals were equipped with, as well as the number of infection-control staff and clinical engineers to operate these types of medical equipment. They were also asked whether the COVID-19 pandemic restricted any healthcare services to ordinary patients as well as COVID-19 patient. Healthcare services were classified as examination, drug administration, surgery, inpatient care other than surgery and outpatient care. A total of 257 hospitals （5%） answered the questionnaire. According to the answers, neither the number of admitted CODID-19 patients nor lack of infection-control staff significantly interfered with healthcare services to patients. It was suggested that appropriate assignment of technical staff in proportion to both the number and type of medical equipment is important for providing treatment to severe COVID-19 patients more efficiently.

This study aimed to investigate the potential, challenges, and future directions of blood collection support devices via questionnaires and interviews with healthcare workers in hospitals. Hence, questionnaire survey was conducted on 95 healthcare workers from Japanese hospitals about their perceptions of clinical problems. And interviews were conducted on seven healthcare workers, respectively. The interviews asked about the possibilities and problems of both devices, as well as the future of automated blood collection systems. Their responses were summarized based on a category analysis of the questionnaire survey and the positions of the interviewees were identified. Six of seven interviewees expressed that venous visualizers have a potential. Some interviewees expressed that they did not need an electronic tourniquet, whereas others considered it helpful. Four participants had high hopes for the use of more advanced automated blood collection systems. However, two participants stated that human involvement (rather than full automation) was needed. The interviews indicated the potential demand for blood collection support devices. The direction should be to leave room for the involvement of HCWs, rather than aiming for a fully automated blood collection system.