An April 13th article from News Medical Life Sciences reported on a medical device coated with a new bacteria resistant material. The device is a specially coated urinary catheter developed by a team at the University of Nottingham that has been awarded a CE mark, which means it can be used in hospitals. The devices will begin trials in 6 UK hospitals to determine whether they actually reduce infection rates and lower patient costs.
The bacteria resistant material was discovered six years ago by a team at the Schools of Pharmacy and Life Sciences. It wasn’t until recently that the material was used to coat medical devices. Infections associated with medical devices can escalate to systemic infections and device failure.