Hospital Infection Control Enters the IoT Era: Tiered Healthcare Drives Technology Adoption in Grassroots Facilities | VB Group Interview

As hospitals are the primary sites of viral concentration, they exhibit extremely high rates of population infection. Therefore, the quality of infection prevention and control in hospitals directly impacts medical outcomes and patient safety, serving as a critical measure to prevent nosocomial cross-infection.

Hospital infection control (IC) began in the 1980s. After 34 years of development, it has established a complete closed-loop system encompassing IC surveillance, process intervention, supervision and evaluation, as well as education and training. What are the current development prospects for modern technologies in infection control? Will the Internet of Things (IoT) spark new innovations in this field?

At the VCBeat 2020 Online Forum on Technology-Enabled Epidemic Prevention and Control—specifically during the Roundtable Discussion on Hospital Infection Control—moderated by Du Xiang from Honghui Capital, Liu Jun (Executive Deputy General Manager and Co-founder of Laoken Medical), Peng Fang (General Manager of Blue Dragonfly Network Technology), and Gu Feng (Founder and Vice President of Zhihuilin Medical) engaged in open discussions. They delved into the opportunities and challenges within the field of hospital infection control. VCBeat has compiled and edited the highlights of their insightful contributions.

This epidemic has dealt a blow to various industries, and the infection control sector is no exception. However, infection control has seized the opportunity, with its relative advantages becoming prominent during this outbreak.

As a renowned comprehensive provider of disinfection and sterilization services in China, Laoken Medical has been dedicated to hospital-based disinfection and sterilization since its establishment in 1998.

Due to the Spring Festival holiday and epidemic control measures across various regions, some of the Company’s key raw material suppliers were unable to resume production in a timely manner, resulting in difficulties in securing raw materials from upstream suppliers. The Company assigned dedicated personnel to coordinate with relevant parties and received strong support from local governments, which facilitated the timely coordination of supplies from vendors across different regions. These efforts ensured an adequate supply of procured materials and the orderly progress of production for key contracts.

To meet the demand for medical air disinfection equipment from frontline epidemic prevention healthcare institutions, the company established an epidemic prevention and control leadership team to take full responsibility for pandemic control and the resumption of production. During the Spring Festival holiday, the company arranged for employees to work in 24-hour shifts, concentrating human and material resources to ensure the supply of medical air disinfection equipment. It is reported that Laoken Medical’s integrated air sterilization units reached a peak production capacity of 2,000 units per day, ten times the usual daily output. Within just one month, Laoken Medical received orders exceeding its total annual volume from previous years (which amounted to over 30,000 units annually).

Actively responding to the epidemic, Laoken Medical has received affirmation and recognition from numerous departments and medical institutions, enhancing its brand value. Liu Jun analyzed from a market perspective,The demand for medical-grade air disinfection is gradually extending beyond healthcare institutions to new application scenarios such as office buildings, classrooms, supermarkets, and cinemas/theaters, rapidly forming a home and commercial market growing at a geometric rate. Furthermore, the significant role played by infection prevention and control (IPC) during the pandemic has evidently enhanced public understanding and acceptance of IPC measures.

During the fight against COVID-19, Blue Dragonfly has also responded actively by leveraging information technology to provide services to hospitals and the public. Starting from the third day of the Lunar New Year, the Blue Dragonfly team organized hospital infection control specialists to develop an early screening and warning system based on the national diagnostic criteria for COVID-19 and collected clinical patient data. This system represents an upgrade to the existing hospital infection control system and currently covers five to six hundred hospitals.

On the other hand, Blue Dragonfly updates infection prevention and control techniques, knowledge, and popular science content through its internet platform, Perception Network, helping the public access information on epidemic prevention and control. “Infection prevention and control is highly specialized.” In this regard, Blue Dragonfly also assists medical institutions in providing training on infection prevention and control skills for healthcare personnel.

According to Peng Fang, General Manager of Blue Dragonfly Network Technology, the current epidemic has also had a certain impact on informatization enterprises.First, in the first quarter of 2020, informatization services were largely at a standstill. Second, although hospital infection control services do not directly generate revenue, they contribute to cost savings by improving operational efficiency. Due to the impact of the pandemic, hospitals will place greater emphasis on their infection control departments and increase investment in this area in future development plans.

Furthermore,For the general public, there may be growth in the demand for disinfection products such as disinfectant wipes and antiseptic solutions.“The SARS outbreak in 2003 gave rise to many hand sanitizer manufacturers. The current epidemic may usher in a new wave of growth for such companies.”

Gu Feng, Founder and Vice President of Zhihuilin Medical, stated that due to the human-to-human transmission characteristic of COVID-19, frontline healthcare workers face a high risk of infection as they need to interact with patients. To reduce the frequency of contact between medical staff and patients, robots have been deployed in processes including testing, nursing care, treatment, and patient services.

Prior to the outbreak, Zhihuilin Medical’s hospital logistics robots—specifically the Noah Hospital Logistics Robots—had already deployed more than ten units at Wuhan Asia Heart Hospital, Tongji Hospital, and Wuhan Central Hospital. Following the outbreak, Noah rapidly developed a corresponding self-disinfection feature for its robots. The company launched a specialized cabinet-style disinfection logistics robot. This new model features an built-in disinfection module that utilizes light-based disinfection technology to ensure a clean internal environment while simultaneously disinfecting materials placed inside, thereby further preventing viral transmission.

Furthermore, Noah is developing 3D automated disinfection technology for the robot's exterior. At the interfaces between areas with differing cleanliness requirements (such as ICUs, isolation wards, and operating rooms), a small physical chamber will be configured for the robots to undergo automatic disinfection, thereby meeting cleanliness standards and ensuring safe delivery.

Gu Feng introduced,By establishing a hospital logistics system, medical staff can focus on patient care. The role and value of robots have gained broader understanding and recognition, highlighting their social and economic benefits.

It should be noted that, precisely because of this,The robotics market has rapidly become “bustling” and increasingly “mixed in quality.” “In fact, healthcare is a field with very high barriers to entry, requiring professionals to carry out specialized tasks. The robotics market may well undergo a period of disordered development in the future.”

Taking air sterilizers as an example. Across healthcare institutions at all levels in China, air sterilizers are characterized by high deployment volume, extensive coverage, and prolonged operational hours. In practical application, challenges such as a heavy workload for equipment management, inadequate maintenance and repair, and lack of monitoring of disinfection efficacy are also prevalent.

The application of the Internet of Things (IoT) enables healthcare personnel to obtain real-time information on equipment status, malfunctions, early warning alerts, after-sales maintenance progress, and efficacy monitoring and evaluation. This enhances work efficiency, ensures the effectiveness of disinfection and sterilization, prevents infection control incidents, and safeguards the health of both patients and medical staff.

Laoken Medical began its IoT strategic layout over a decade ago. Leveraging technologies such as cloud computing, big data, 5G, and the Internet of Things (IoT), it has integrated terminals, base stations, and platforms into a unified medical IoT solution. Combined with more than 20 years of systematic experience in sterilization projects, as well as a solid technological and market foundation, this solution has been successfully commercialized.

In 2019, Laoken Medical successfully established China’s first smart IoT service cloud platform and integrated all its air disinfection products with the platform. Laoken Medical will also take the lead in initiating academic research projects in the field of IoT-based infection prevention and control, collaborate with renowned national experts in hospital infection control and disinfection to develop relevant industry standards, and advance the vision of the Internet of Everything.

Secondly, Laoken Medical has also established regional IoT-based information platforms for health supervision in collaboration with health regulatory centers across multiple provinces and cities. These platforms assist health law enforcement agencies in efficiently managing infection prevention and control (IPC) operations by providing online monitoring and early warning capabilities through features such as resource allocation, risk analysis, and trend assessment.

In Liu Jun's view,Future infection prevention and control work is inextricably linked to the Internet of Things, with its applications primarily manifested in early warning capabilities.In addition to integrating air sterilizers with the Internet of Things (IoT), LaoKen Medical is advancing IoT applications in endoscope reprocessing centers.

Gu Feng stated that in the ward areas, Zhihuilin Medical has deployed a comprehensive IoT system covering the entire lifecycle, ranging from patient vital signs monitoring to scenarios such as the transport, recycling, and disposal of specimens and consumable medical devices. Among these applications, robots were the focal point of our IoT deployment during the recent pandemic; the operational trajectories of all robots are processed and monitored via the cloud. The Noah Hospital Logistics Robot has achieved intelligent delivery across all hospital scenarios, thereby alleviating the workload of infection prevention and control staff.

Peng Fangze analyzed three key points in hospital infection prevention and control: first, the source of infection; second, the route of transmission; and third, the susceptible population."The focus of hospital infection prevention and control lies in the isolation of transmission routes, and the role of the Internet of Things is reflected in cutting off these transmission routes."

Prior to the emergence of IoT platforms, hospitals primarily relied on their own data and limited regional collaborations for healthcare-associated infection (HAI) research. With corporate involvement, technologies such as big data and artificial intelligence can now assist hospitals in model development and data analysis. Liu Jun revealed that Laoken Medical aims to establish a global big data platform in the field of infection prevention and control.

However, the development of the Internet of Things (IoT) also faces challenges, primarily reflected in China’s unbalanced economic development and regional disparities in healthcare standards. Consequently, the advancement of infection prevention and control initiatives varies across regions. Addressing this issue requires not only policy support from the state but also a bold spirit from enterprises in related fields to actively explore less-developed markets.

As 5G network technology matures, the cost of building the Internet of Things (IoT) will decrease. With lower hospital costs, the expansion of “high-quality and affordable” infection control IoT solutions will proceed smoothly.Peng Fang proposed,In the short term, identify hospitals willing to participate and capable of serving as benchmark institutions to establish pilot programs, thereby enabling expansion from individual sites to broader coverage.

“The Internet of Things (IoT) has been developing for a long time, yet it has remained largely under the radar. Currently, the IoT industry is still in its early stages, with limited applicability of networking, communications, and sensors in healthcare settings. As demand rises, IoT solutions will rapidly advance.” Therefore, Zhihuilin Medical started with straightforward tasks—such as medication delivery, intravenous infusion management, and medical waste disposal in standardized scenarios—adopting a step-by-step approach before expanding hospital-wide.

Hierarchical diagnosis and treatment, a key focus of China’s healthcare reform, has been implemented for many years. Its development trend shows a shift toward primary care institutions. Against this backdrop, Du Xiang from Honghui Capital raised the question: What impact will infection control and the Internet of Things (IoT) industry have on the hospital market?

Gu Feng provided the initial response. He emphasized that the nation must establish a comprehensive tiered diagnosis and treatment system.MinTiered diagnosis and treatment is a key mechanism for implementing layered prevention and control.However, while hospitals are the primary settings for medical treatment, they are also hotspots for cross-infection. “Not to mention large hospitals, infection prevention and control work in primary care hospitals is extremely difficult to carry out.”“Given the highly specialized nature of healthcare-associated infection (HAI) control, primary care institutions often lack qualified professionals. If the Internet of Things (IoT) can be effectively implemented in infection prevention and control (IPC) at the grassroots level, it would not only significantly reduce healthcare costs and lessen reliance on specialized personnel but also enhance the overall level of disease prevention and control.”

Peng Fang analyzed the role of tiered diagnosis and treatment from an informatization perspective, namely, to promote the dissemination and sharing of knowledge and skills. Primary healthcare workers involved in hospital infection control lack sufficient theoretical knowledge and professional expertise. Peng Fang drew this conclusion from data on the Ganshi Network platform under Blue Dragonfly.

Ganzhiwang is the online knowledge platform of Blue Dragonfly, offering services such as Q&A on infection prevention and control (IPC), resource downloads, online learning, and online examinations. The Blue Dragonfly operations team comprises over 15,000 IPC and public health professionals. It operates the Blue Dragonfly IPC Lecture Hall, providing online knowledge training to IPC and infectious disease-related personnel across China, with cumulative service engagements exceeding one million.

Data from the Perception Network platform indicates that grassroots cadres at township health centers, private medical institutions, and community health service centers have an urgent need for new skills and knowledge in healthcare-associated infection control.

"Infection control initiatives are independent of a hospital’s scale and should be treated equally," said Liu Jun.During the implementation of tiered diagnosis and treatment, it is essential to strengthen the construction of systematic thinking frameworks. Since the promotion of tiered diagnosis and treatment, the third-party sterilization service centers encouraged by the state represent a standard Internet of Things (IoT) case study: third-party providers offer sales and services for hospital infection control equipment, allowing hospitals to simply avail themselves of these services.

Technology knows no borders, but healthcare systems vary from country to country. Although the implementation processes abroad are difficult to replicate in China, the underlying experience remains the same. “For instance, cloud-based testing and real-time data feedback can both be enabled through the Internet of Things,” said Gu Feng.

“This outbreak has also exposed the weaknesses of hospitals at all levels.” Gu Feng proposed a hypothesis: equip general hospitals with a “button” that, when pressed during emergencies, allows them to instantly shift into wartime mode, thereby better responding to sudden incidents. In this process, hospital campuses and equipment would need to be upgraded. “This presents an opportunity for infection control companies.”

As previously mentioned, third-party sterile supply centers represent a forward-looking application of the Internet of Things (IoT). In 2014, LaoKen Medical partnered with Steris Corporation, the world’s largest outsourced provider of sterile processing services, to establish a joint venture that created China’s largest regional sterile supply center adhering to top-tier international standards. Liu Jun stated that although foreign countries took an early lead, China is actively catching up and has already achieved overtaking on the curve in certain sectors.

Hospital Infection Control Information Systems are among the earliest products applied in medical information systems.Hospital informatization has evolved from paper-based to electronic systems, and has now achieved online process management. With sufficient data accumulation, it enables predictive analytics and early warnings to assist human decision-making. The hospital infection control information system was arguably the earliest product within the overall healthcare informatization ecosystem. Peng Fang noted that, in the field of hospital infection control, foreign efforts have clearly not been as in-depth as those in China.

With the rapid development of infection prevention and control (IPC) in China, IPC has swiftly evolved from its foundational era—focused on disinfection, sterilization, isolation, hand hygiene, environmental sanitation, and basic infection control—into a comprehensive era encompassing full-process involvement in infection prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. However, this does not mean we can relax; when facing challenges, we must believe that opportunities always accompany them.