ABSTRACT
Ultraviolet germicidal irradiation (UVGI) systems have various applications in the health care industry for the disinfection of equipment and surfaces, including medical equipment disinfection, whole room decontamination, —oor disinfection, cooling coil disinfection, and surgical site disinfection. The disinfection of surfaces is perhaps the simplest and most predictable application of ultraviolet irradiation technology. UV is highly effective at achieving sterilization of most types of surfaces and at controlling microbial growth. The sterilization of equipment in the medical industry was one of the Ÿrst applications of UV technology. These applications are reviewed along with the fundamentals of UV surface disinfection.
