In the autumn of 2019, at the largest infectious disease forum in the US, a group of medical experts met to discuss the challenge of Healthcare Associated Infection (HAI), which each year takes the lives of 100,000 US patients and costs providers billions of dollars. "We need a new strategy to protect our patients," stated Frank Peacock, a widely published expert in infection control. and emergency medicine physician in Houston, Texas. Just a few months later, the world would come to a screeching halt with the greatest pandemic of the 21st century. Like all clinicians, Peacock would be thrown headfirst into a multi-year nightmare of long shifts, filled hospitals, and limited resources. The rest is of historical record.
Today, Frank Peacock still treats patients but is also the Chief Medical Officer at AseptiScope®, the company he co-founded with innovation experts who have produced novel solutions in areas like diabetes and cardiovascular disease for decades. "The greatest concern of HAI is that the bugs are winning" Peacock laments. Ever since the germ theory of disease became widely accepted in the late 19th century, clinicians have used various chemicals to kill pathogens, such as alcohol and antibiotics. However, these microorganisms are genetically diverse and are constantly evolving to survive against environmental pressures. This has led to the emergence of multidrug-resistant organisms, also known as "superbugs." "We can't wash our way out of this problem as these species learn to survive in the face of antimicrobials like alcohol. Recently, the CDC has elevated concerns that the stethoscope may be transmitting dangerous pathogens by touch between every patient. Touching US patients over 5 billion times a year, the stethoscope may be undermining patient safety. AseptiScope's innovative solution, The DiskCover® System, blocks stethoscope transmission without contributing to increasing pathogen resistance" explains Peacock.
