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.

本研究の目的は，医療従事者へのアンケートと面接により，採血支援機器の可能性，課題，将来の方向性を調査することである．筆者らは，日本の病院の医療従事者95名に，臨床的課題をどのようにとらえているかについてアンケートした．さらに，許可を得た７名に面接調査をおこなった．面接では，２機器の可能性と問題点，および自動採血システムの将来について質問した．アンケート調査に基づいてカテゴリ分析し，面接対象者の位置を特定した．面接した７名中６名は，静脈可視化装置には可能性があるとした．電子止血帯は必要ないという者もいたが，役に立つとした者もいた．４名は，自動採血システムに期待している．２名は，採血作業では，完全な自動化ではなく，人間の関与が必要だと述べた．採血支援機器には潜在的需要があることを示している．方向性としては，全自動採血システムを目指すのではなく，医療従事者の関与の余地を残すことを考慮すべきである．