Month: October 2020

• One study is featured at the Infectious Disease Society of America (IDSA) IDWeek virtual meeting
• Two studies to be featured at the upcoming American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP20) virtual annual meeting

October 22, 2020 San Diego, CA – AseptiScope™ Inc., a privately funded San Diego, California based clinical innovation company announced today that a study describing the challenge of stethoscope hygiene practices and two studies supporting the use of aseptic disk covers to protect patients from exposure to pathogens on the stethoscope diaphragm are featured at medical conferences in October.

Dr. Frank Peacock, a co-founder of AseptiScope and a co-author of the study featured at the IDSA entitled Effectiveness of Aseptic Stethoscope Barriers in Allowing Clean Contact for Clostridioides Difficile-Contaminated Stethoscope, commented “this important study builds on a body of data supporting the use of aseptic disk covers to protect patients from exposure to pathogens on the stethoscope.  By now demonstrating that disk covers are an effective barrier against alcohol-resistant C. difficile spores, we have established the relevance of our solution against one of the most prominent and challenging drug-resistant superbugs that healthcare faces today,” Dr. Peacock added.  

“We are pleased to see these two prestigious congresses focus on the longstanding challenge of stethoscope hygiene,” said Scott Mader the CEO and co-founder of AseptiScope.  “The findings further substantiate the stethoscope contamination challenge while supporting the use and effectiveness of touch-free, aseptic, single-use stethoscope disk covers.  With the upcoming launch of our flagship product, The DiskCover™ System, we look forward to bringing important innovation to this market,” he added.

The details of the data presentations are as follows:

Infectious Disease Society of America IDWeek Virtual Meeting (https://idweek.org)

Poster Name: Effectiveness of Aseptic Stethoscope Barriers in Allowing Clean Contact for Clostridioides Difficile-Contaminated Stethoscope
Poster Session: HAI: Disinfection/Sterilization & Environmental Infection Prevention
Poster Number: 816
Presenter: Rajiv S. Vasudevan, BS
Date: On-Demand as of 21 October 2021

American College of Emergency Physicians Annual Meeting ACEP20 (https://www.acep.org/sa/)

Poster Name: Stethoscope Cleaning Practices and Knowledge Amongst Healthcare Providers
Track: Research
Poster Number: 255
Presenter: Sarathi Kalra, MD
Date: On-Demand as of 26 October 2020
Poster Name: Are Stethoscopes and Infection Control Enemies?
Track: Research
Poster Number: 257
Presenter: Sarathi Kalra, MD
Date: On-Demand as of 26 October 2020

About AseptiScope, Inc.

AseptiScope, formed in early 2016, is a privately funded San Diego, California based, clinical innovation company. The company is founded and led by clinical innovation experts, leading medical researchers and practicing physicians. The AseptiScope mission is to design, develop, manufacture and commercialize novel solutions that ensure “Infection Protection for Clinician & Patient.”  The company will introduce the first true and practical solution for the longstanding challenge of stethoscope contamination in autumn of 2020: The DiskCover System™.  Visit www.aseptiscope.com for more information.

AseptiScope, DiskCover, and related logos are trademarks of AseptiScope, Inc.

Media Contact
Irene Mulonni 
irene@mulonni.com
858.859.7001

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• The stethoscope, while offering profound clinical utility, may have served as a vector for COVID-19 virus transmission.
• The AseptiScope^™ DiskCover^™ System, a new and innovative touch-free diaphragm barrier dispenser, offers a ray of hope for stethoscope hygiene and infection protection.

October 14, 2020 San Diego, CA – A new CardioPulse article¹ entitled “The Stethoscope: A Potential Vector for COVID-19” discusses a probable case of stethoscope-related COVID-19 virus transmission from a known COVID-19 positive patient to a cardiology resident.  The resident, in full personal protective equipment, suspects that she was infected after examining an infected patient and subsequently placing the infected stethoscope inside her protective gown.  The resident later developed symptoms and tested positive for COVID-19.  She has since fully recovered and returned to normal clinical duties.

“The stethoscope serves a multi-faceted role in the diagnosis and care of patients, even in the COVID-19 era,” said Dr. Alan Maisel, a co-author of the article and co-founder of AseptiScope^™, Inc.  “That said, we recognize the ever-growing body of evidence establishing the stethoscope as a culprit in the transmission of infection, now including COVID-19,” he added.  

The authors point out that pathogens found on clinicians’ hands are also present on their “third hand,” the stethoscope, and in similar volume and diversity.  However, unlike well-established hand hygiene protocols, current stethoscope hygiene guidelines do not adequately reflect the risks posed by stethoscope contamination.  Moreover, multiple recent direct observational studies have documented consistently low levels of clinician compliance to stethoscope hygiene guidelines and recommended cleaning methods.  The authors go on to state that, while guidelines advise against using personal stethoscopes in contact precaution settings, single-patient disposable stethoscopes offer impaired sound quality and do not prevent clinician-to-clinician infection transmission.     

Technological innovation is bringing “a ray of hope” to stethoscope hygiene. In particular, the authors highlight the DiskCover^™System, a promising new solution developed by AseptiScope, which delivers single-use stethoscope diaphragm barriers in a touch-free fashion. By creating an aseptic surface for patient examinations², the barrier protects against pathogen transmission while maintaining high quality acoustics. 

“The rapid and reliable application of single-use aseptic stethoscope barriers at the point of care is emerging as the first practical solution to the long-standing challenge of stethoscope hygiene,” said Scott Mader, CEO and co-founder of AseptiScope.  “With the upcoming launch of our touch-free DiskCover System, healthcare providers will be able to safely use their most frequently employed medical device, the stethoscope, at a time when infection control is paramount.”

References:

1. European Heart Journal, Volume 41, Issue 36, 21 September 2020, Pages 3393–3395, https://doi.org/10.1093/eurheartj/ehaa657
2. Vasudevan R, et al. Mayo Clin Proc Innov Qual Outcomes. 2020;4(1):21-30. Published 2020 Feb 5. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7010972/

About AseptiScope, Inc.

AseptiScope, formed in early 2016, is a privately funded San Diego, California based, clinical innovation company. The company is founded and led by clinical innovation experts, leading medical researchers and practicing physicians. The AseptiScope mission is to design, develop, manufacture and commercialize novel solutions that ensure “Infection Protection for Clinician & Patient.”  The company will introduce the first true and practical solution for the longstanding challenge of stethoscope contamination in autumn of 2020: The DiskCover System™.  Visit www.aseptiscope.com for more information.

AseptiScope, DiskCover, and related logos are trademarks of AseptiScope, Inc.

Media Contact
AseptiScope, Inc. 
Irene Mulonni 
irene@mulonni.com
858.859.7001

DOWNLOAD PDF