A hospital gown for patients that helps control the growth of the MRSA superbug is to go on trial.
It has an anti-microbial coating, and is designed to have minimal contact between patient and nurse to reduce the spread of the bug, which kills up to 3,000 people a year.
The gown was designed by Fatima Ba-Alawi, of DCS Designs, a graduate start-up company from the University of Portsmouth.
The trial at University College London Hospital (UCLH) will last for eight weeks and involve 30 patients in the intensive care unit and an operating theatre.
Patients and staff will be surveyed to assess the gown's benefits, and laboratory tests will analyse how successful they have been in cutting the number of bugs.
Ms Ba-Alawi said: "I designed the gown to promote patient dignity, comfort and safety, but I'm delighted that it might help prevent the spread of diseases like MRSA."
The anti-microbial layer added to the gown is made of Permagard, which destroys the bacteria on contact by penetrating the cell wall rather than relying on a slow release poison.
The design of the gown allows access to the patient's body for examination and is easier to change.
This reduction in contact with the uniforms of nurses means there is a smaller chance of cross-contamination.
Statistics published by the Health Protection Agency (HPA) last week showed that the number of MRSA cases in England fell by 5% between April and September 2006. There were 3,391 reports for that period, compared to 3,570 for the same time frame in 2005.
