Cupron Inc., and Reuth Medical Center in Tel Aviv, Israel, announced that the hospital will be updating all of its patient-related hospital textiles to Cupron’s copper-embedded products later this summer. It will be the world’s first hospital to fully deploy copper-embedded textiles.

The decision by Reuth Medical Center, following a six-month trial of copper-embedded linens supplied by Cupron for investigational purposes, was based on the significant clinical improvement seen across several hospital benchmarks. The evaluation took place in the 35-bed head injury ward of the Reuth Rehabilitation Center in Tel Aviv, where during two separate six-month periods, Cupron’s copper-embedded products were compared against the standard linens and textiles the hospital was using.

"Based on the impressive results of the clinical trial, both in terms of the patient benefit and the potential this technology has to reduce costs, the decision to purchase Cupron's textiles for use throughout the hospital was clear,” said Dr. Nissim Ohana, Director General  of Reuth Medical Center. “Cupron’s copper-based products were a simple solution that didn’t require any additional steps to our normal hospital procedures. It turned out that ordinary products used daily in the hospital could transform to extraordinary ones and provide a safer environment to the patient.”

For centuries, copper has been used as an anti-bacterial agent. Other research studies have shown copper to effectively reduce the incidence of healthcare-associated infections by reducing cross contamination, preventing the colonization of pathogens, and efficaciously killing bacteria on a wide range of touch surfaces.

“Given the need to control healthcare costs, while at the same time improve patient care and safety, the healthcare industry is actively exploring the use of innovative copper-based solutions,” said Paul Rocheleau, Chairman of Cupron. “Because our technology can be embedded into such a diverse range of products including hospital linens, Cupron, and our partners, are able to supply hospitals like Reuth Medical Center with a comprehensive set of products aimed at better protecting their patients and staff.”

Results from the study will be made public later this month at the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases in Berlin.

About Reuth Medical Center

Reuth Medical Center is a university affiliated state-of-the-art, 350-bed rehabilitation hospital, the largest of its kind in the Tel Aviv area. Founded in 1961 as a nonprofit, the hospital has not only kept pace with the latest developments in medical treatment and society’s changing needs but now prides itself on leading the field of rehabilitation in, literally, rebuilding lives.

Reuth Medical Center provides medical, rehabilitative and complex medical nursing care to adults, the elderly, children and infants. Known for high professional standards and a warm, supportive atmosphere, Reuth Medical Center offers short-term as well as long-term care. Each year, thousands patients leave the hospital rehabilitated to go home to family and community.