Cleankeys molded keyboard
Randy Marsden, Chief Executive Officer Cleankeys Inc. (formerly Madentec Limited), told Edmontonians Magazine, that keyboards are the #1 cause of bacterial infections and are more germ-infested than public toilet seats. And regardless as how much you try to disinfect them, there are just too many nooks and crannies to get to and places for bacteria to grow.
Keyboards have become quite the ubiquitous animal but with the advancement of technology, especially in healthcare, they getting closer and closer in proximity to patients and are becoming more common in many procedures – and that’s scary.
It’s no secret that everyone is concerned about infection. SARS, Bird-flu and H1N1 have been prominent in media headlines. And all you have to do is look around and see how many hand-sanitizer pump bottles and dispensers we’re seeing in offices and public areas.
So Edmonton-based Cleankeys, have created a keyboard that can effectively be wiped down, reducing bacteria on the surface by 95%. They have over 20 years of experience with input devices – primarily Assistive Technology products for people with disabilities and have helped people like Muhammad Ali and Christopher Reeve.
Smooth Glass Top and Acrylic Models
Their original proof of concept unit was released about 18 months ago, but today Cleankeys is rolling out, worldwide, a second generation of Cleankeys keyboards – one a smooth glass top finish and the other an acrylic model, featuring molded keywells. Both have a machined Corian bottom.
Now molded keywells are typically not great for touch-typists, but the acrylic model uses an adjustable touch capacitive circuitry allowing it to be sensitive to the touch even when wearing gloves – which we see all the time now in healthcare situations. This was made possible in part by incorporating an accelerometer – technology found in both the Apple iPhone and the vibrations sensors in the Nintendo Wii remote control.
It’s USB wireless and at 15”, it’s about 3-5” narrower than a typical keyboard, but smaller than a typical keyboard but it still houses both a numeric keypad and an integrated oval touch pad, so no is mouse needed.
Cleankeys sells for $400 US. To find more about, visit their site and check out Edmontonians Magazine to read a more in-depth story, including how Marsden stumbled across the idea for Cleankeys.
Tags: bacteria, cleankeys, Edmonton, Gadget Guy, gadgetguy, H1N1, healthcare, infection, Marsden
Wow, I had never considered the concept of bacteria laden keyboards. This really makes sense. I can see where this kind of keyboard will catch on in environments where sanitation is important. I love finding out about these kinds of advances. Thanks Greg
Thanks Chuck!
Truth is, bacteria is everywhere! Marsden himself said that he has 5 kids and his keyboard on his home computer is disgusting. I bet few people even clean their keyboards let alone disinfect them.
I know keyboards are cheap these days… and I’m sure many are filling our landfills as we speak, but someone surely has to be able to create a dishwasher safe keyboard. I work at a call centre where there are over 1000 computers… and agents don’t sit at the same desk every day. It would be great to be ablt o reuse keyboards by washing them (not only getting rid of bacteria, but also bringing them back to life) in dishwashers on a rotational period. I’m thankful I’m not one of those agents and was able to get me a new keyboard that only I touch… but I’m sure now that it’s 2010, a dishwasher-safe keyboard can’t be that much of a stretch. Just because it’s cheaper to throw it in a landfill doesn’t make it right… (and while we’re at it, dishwasher safe mice works too).
Clean and Play?
When we designed Cleankeys, we thought about dishwashers. (In fact, because it’s completely sealed, you probably could put it in a dishwasher – but we haven’t tried it yet and don’t recommend it). But we figured even better than a dishwasher is being able to just wipe it in place. Spray, wipe, done. Much less hassle than the dishwasher. (But I’m still gonna try it for the fun of it!).
-Randy (with Cleankeys Inc)
Hi Randy,
Thanks for chiming in. Please let us know how the dishwasher experiment washes out – pardon the pun… At least the user wont have to worry about voiding their warranty.
The keyboard is certainly raising alot more awareness of the problem at hand.
Greg