Cherry Electrical Products has introduced its new J84-2800 Series washable keyboard for the healthcare/medical market. The keyboard helps control the spread of infections in medical facilities, an issue critical to the healthcare industry.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that patients develop 1.7 million infections in hospitals each year, and those infections cause or contribute to the death of 99,000 people a year - about 270 per day. A Northwestern Memorial Hospital study also found that MRSA bacteria can survive on the surface of a computer keyboard for more than 24 hours. MRSA outbreaks in hospitals and schools have been linked to deaths in both the U.S. and the U.K

Cherry's J84-2800 Series keyboard features a fully-sealed rubber casing rated to NEMA 4. This makes it suitable for rinsing and total immersion in cleaning fluids, allowing healthcare providers and other users to wash the keyboard with hospital-grade disinfectants and commercial anti-bacterial wipes. It is suitable for areas with strict hygiene demands, such as operating rooms, medical carts, ward stations, intensive care units, and dialysis centers, as well as other locations susceptible to cross-contamination. The Committee to Reduce Infection Deaths also recommends the adoption of washable keyboards in schools.

The J84-2800 features a CLEAN key that disables key functions during the cleaning process to prevent accidental data transfer and ensure infection control procedures can be carried out without disruption to patient care or costly downtime to system hardware. The keyboard measures 16.7" wide by 7.5" high and features a 104 key U.S. layout.