Disinfection of virtual reality devices in healthcare settings (Preprint)

BACKGROUND Virtual reality (VR) devices are increasingly used in healthcare settings. Use between patients has the potential to unintentionally transmit pathogens between patients and/or hospital staff. No standard operating procedure for disinfection exists to ensure safe use between patients. OBJECTIVE To determine the efficacy of disinfectants on virtual reality devices in order to ensure safe use in healthcare settings. METHODS Three types of bacteria were inoculated onto porous and non-porous surfaces of two VR devices, the Meta Oculus Quest and Meta Oculus Quest 2. Disinfection was performed using either isopropyl alcohol or alcohol-free quaternary ammonium wipes. Quantitative culture was used to assess the adequacy of disinfection. A survey was separately sent out to VR device technicians at other pediatric healthcare institutes to compare methods of disinfection and how they were established. RESULTS Both products achieved adequate disinfection of the treated surfaces, however a greater log-kill was achieved on non-porous surfaces than porous surfaces. alcohol performed better than quaternary ammonium on porous surfaces. Survey respondents reported wide variability is disinfection processes with only one person reporting an established standard operating procedure. CONCLUSIONS Disinfection can be achieved through use of either isopropyl alcohol or quaternary ammonium products. Porous surfaces showed lesser log-kill rates than non-porous surfaces, indicating use of an added barrier may be of benefit and should be a point of future research. Given the variability in disinfection process across healthcare systems, a standard operating procedure is proposed.