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US 2012/0246797 A1Published application
Bioburden-reducing fabrics and methods
OwnerTerry G. Montgomery, W. Allen Leonard +2inventors
InventorsTerry G. Montgomery, W. Allen Leonard, Neil Blanton, Kavita Mathur
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Bioburden reducing fabrics include a woven fabric having warp yarns and filling yarns woven together in a plain weave to provide a pill resistant fabric having identical surfaces on both sides thereof. A surface of the fabric, when exposed to a pathogenic environment for twenty hours, allows no more than a total average of about twenty-two CFUs of pathogens per square centimeter to be formed thereon.
Claims59
A method of reducing bioburden within a medical facility, comprising:
- (a) fitting essentially all beds within the facility with clean sheets, wherein each sheet comprises a woven fabric having warp yarns and filling yarns woven together in a plain weave to provide a pill resistant fabric having identical surfaces on both sides thereof, and wherein the fabric has zero percent (0%) weight loss after one hundred (100) launderings;
- then
- (b) occupying the beds with patients, wherein the sheets on average contain no more than a total average of about twenty-two (22) CFUs of pathogens per square centimeter after twenty (20) hours of use by a bed occupant;
- and
- (c) repeating steps (a)-(b) for a number of times sufficient to reduce the bioburden within the facility.
2 more elements
A method of reducing bioburden within a medical facility, comprising:
- (a) dressing each patient within the facility with a clean hospital gown, wherein each hospital gown comprises a woven fabric having warp yarns and filling yarns woven together in a plain weave to provide a pill resistant fabric having identical surfaces on both sides thereof, and wherein the fabric has zero percent (0%) weight loss after one hundred (100) launderings;
- (b) maintaining the patients within beds in the facility, wherein the gowns on average contain no more than a total average of about twenty-two (22) CFUs of pathogens per square centimeter after twenty (20) hours of use by a patient;
- and
- (c) repeating steps (a)-(b) for a number of times sufficient to reduce the bioburden within the facility.
1 more element
A method of reducing bioburden within a medical facility, comprising:
- fitting essentially all beds within the facility with clean sheets, wherein each sheet comprises a woven fabric having warp yarns and filling yarns woven together in a plain weave to provide a pill resistant fabric having identical surfaces on both sides thereof, and wherein the fabric has zero percent (0%) weight loss after one hundred (100) launderings;
- collecting the sheets after twenty (20) hours of use by occupants of the beds;
- and
- laundering the collected sheets;
- wherein a surface of each sheet allows no more than a total average of about twenty-five (25) CFUs of pathogens per square centimeter to be formed thereon after at least thirty (30) laundering cycles.
2 more elements
A method of reducing bioburden within a medical facility, comprising:
- (a) fitting essentially all beds within the facility with clean sheets, wherein each sheet comprises a woven fabric having warp yarns and filling yarns woven together in a plain weave to provide a pill resistant fabric having identical surfaces on both sides thereof, and wherein the fabric has zero percent (0%) weight loss after one hundred (100) launderings;
- then
- (b) occupying the beds with patients, wherein the sheets on average contain no more than a total average of about twenty-two (22) CFUs of pathogens per square centimeter after twenty (20) hours of use by a bed occupant;
- (c) dressing each patient within the facility with a clean hospital gown, wherein each hospital gown comprises the woven fabric;
- then
- (d) maintaining the patients within beds in the facility, wherein the gowns on average contain no more than a total average of about twenty-two (22) CFUs of pathogens per square centimeter after twenty (20) hours of use by a patient;
- and
- (e) repeating steps (a)-(d) for a number of times sufficient to reduce the bioburden within the facility.
5 more elements
A bioburden reducing fabric, comprising:
- a woven fabric having warp yarns and filling yarns woven together in a plain weave to provide a pill resistant fabric having identical surfaces on both sides thereof;
- wherein the fabric has zero percent (0%) weight loss after one hundred (100) launderings;
- and
- wherein a surface of the fabric, when exposed to a pathogenic environment for twenty (20) hours, allows no more than a total average of about twenty-two (22) CFUs of pathogens per square centimeter to be formed thereon.
1 more element
A fabric, comprising:
- a non-treated woven fabric having warp yarns and filling yarns woven together in a plain weave to provide a pill resistant fabric having identical surfaces on both sides thereof, wherein the warp yarns are about 30 denier to 100 denier, and the filling yarns are about 30 denier to 100 denier, one of the warp or filling yarns being 100% continuous filament nylon having round filament cross sections and making up at least 40% by weight of the fabric, and the other of the warp or filling yarns being continuous filament polyester having non-round filament cross sections or nylon having non-round filament cross sections and making up the remainder of the weight of the fabric.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.