UCLA adds new mobile lab to fleet

The all-electric vehicle is estimated to save UCLA $750,000 annually in surgical instrument disinfection costs.

Image courtesy of Winnebago

University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) Health Center has added an all-electric mobile surgical instrument lab (eMSIL) to its fleet of mobile medical units. 

The zero-emission eMSIL includes all the equipment needed to deliver the same level of performance, productivity and compliance from decontamination through sterilization as a lab located in a building, including two desks in the slide-out area, two workbenches, an industrial sink and two stations for 5.5 gallon ultrasonic cleaners, among other custom cabinetry and equipment. The turnkey solution travels between UCLA’s Ronald Reagan and Santa Monica campuses to collect, clean, repair, disinfect and sterilize surgical suite instruments.

The mobile unit was built by Winnebago Specialty Vehicles, Forest City, Iowa, and one of its preferred commercial EV platform upfitters, Summit Bodyworks, Fort Lupton, Colo. It is powered by an all-electric EPIC F-53 33-foot chassis from Motiv Power Systems, Foster City, Calif. 

The eMSIL can hold enough battery charge for eight hours of typical service plus round-trip travel to and from its home facility, which is more than enough capacity to cover travel between the two hospitals. It has completed significant road testing and delivers an expected range of 85 to 125 miles on a full charge.

Estimates show the health center will save close to $750,000 a year compared to contracting with a third party to provide sterilization off-site.