In 2017, the Canada's Drug Agency horizon scanning service reviewed a portable pulsed-xenon ultraviolet (UV) light system, a then-emerging technology to supplement existing cleaning and disinfection processes in hospital rooms.¹ Since then, robotic UV light disinfection systems have been subject to health technology assessment² and automated devices that use hydrogen peroxide vapour (vaporous hydrogen peroxide [VHP]) to disinfect surfaces have emerged.³ In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, questions about the potential role of robotic disinfection systems in t

How It Works

A virtual waiting room is an umbrella term for a variety of technologies that manage health care visits.¹ The term can be used in relation to in-person or virtual visits; however, this article will focus on the use of virtual waiting rooms for in-person visits. In this context, the term usually refers to scheduling-and-triaging software combined with some form of two-way communication between the health care workers and the individuals seeking care.

Methods

Canada's Drug Agency Horizon Scanning bulletins present an overview of the technology and available evidence on a given topic. They are not systematic reviews and do not involve the critical appraisal of all studies or include a detailed summary of study findings. They are not intended to provide recommendations for or against a particular technology.

Canadian and international researchers are examining whether coating masks, air filters, and high-touch surfaces with sodium chloride (salt) might be an effective option to help prevent the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 and other viruses and bacteria. This article is an update to the Canada's Drug Agency Health Technology Update article “Antimicrobial Compressed Salt for High-Touch Surfaces” published in 2017.¹ The update explores new developments in the use of salt coatings that may help in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) illness has been associated with high levels of cytokines — small proteins in the blood that both promote and control inflammation.^1-3 Instead of enhancing the immune response to the infection, excessive levels of cytokines may result in a “cytokine storm” that can lead to systemic inflammatory response syndrome, acute respiratory distress syndrome, acute kidney injury, multiple organ dysfunction, and death.^1,4-6

New saliva-based tests for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 are more comfortable for individuals being tested and may pose less risk to health care workers than alternative tests

Contact tracing is a public health intervention that prevents the spread of infectious diseases like COVID-19 by identifying, educating, and monitoring individuals who have been in close contact with infected persons.¹ Traditionally, contact tracing is performed manually, which is time-consuming and resource-intensive.

This issue of Health Technology Update features brief summaries of information on a range of technologies that aim to support the prevention, identification, and management of COVID-19 — from smartphone apps for contact tracing to self-collected sampling for diagnostic testing. These technologies were identified through the Canada's Drug Agency Horizon Scanning Service as topics of potential interest to health care decision-makers in Canada.

The following articles on emerging technologies are featured:

Contact Tracing Apps to Identify Potential Exposure to SARS-CoV-2