In Ottawa, light wiped on the nose cut heart-surgery infections by more than half

Sometimes the breakthrough is not a new drug, but light. The University of Ottawa Heart Institute told the Canadian Cardiovascular Congress that a nurse-led treatment called Steriwave — a light-activated nasal disinfection given at the point of care — cut infections at the sites where surgeons harvest vessels for heart bypass surgery by 51.5%, across 2,172 bypass procedures. Infections fell from 3.3% to 1.6% of cases, and 93.3% of patients completed the treatment, compared with 35.4% for the older multi-day antibiotic ointment routine it outperformed — because a treatment people actually finish protects far better than one they abandon.

SDG 3 · Good health and well-being — Mechanism: tech innovation