Surface acoustic waves enhance neutrophil killing of bacteria.

Biofilms are structured communities of bacteria that play a major role in the pathogenicity of bacteria and are the leading cause of antibiotic resistant bacterial infections on indwelling catheters and medical prosthetic devices. Failure to resolve these biofilm infections may necessitate the surgical removal of the prosthetic device which can be debilitating and costly. Recent studies have shown that application of surface acoustic waves to catheter surfaces can reduce the incidence of infections by a mechanism that has not yet been clarified.

Effective prevention of microbial biofilm formation on medical devices by low-energy surface acoustic waves.

Low-energy surface acoustic waves generated from electrically activated piezo elements are shown to effectively prevent microbial biofilm formation on indwelling medical devices. The development of biofilms by four different bacteria and Candida species is prevented when such elastic waves with amplitudes in the nanometer range are applied. Acoustic-wave-activated Foley catheters have all their surfaces vibrating with longitudinal and transversal dispersion vectors homogeneously surrounding the catheter surfaces.