Innovative Glass Exhibits their Curtain Eliminating, Switchable Privacy Glass ICU Doors at HIMSS 2014 Intelligent Hospital Pavilion

A simple dusting does little to eliminate germs and prevent cross contamination. Hospital curtains also provide no sound containment.

An alternative to curtains might be a glass divider, but then the glass has to be covered with some type of window treatment, be it curtains, blinds or mechanical shades. This still leaves you with the cleaning and maintenance issue. There is always the alternative of a solid wall but that just confines the space, darkens the rooms, and doesn’t offer the ability to view and monitor the patient or activity within the room.

Innovative Glass Corp introduces a dynamic glass technology known as Liquid Crystal Switchable Privacy Glass –also known as LC Privacy Glass, or “eGlass®”. This is laminated glass that has an electrified film imbedded within the glass, switches from clear to frosted white at the touch of a button allowing for instant patient privacy on demand.

In the unpowered, default state, the glass is completely obscure, providing 100% privacy from both sides, and although private, the light still passes through. When you provide electricity, the molecules in the film reorient and the glass instantly becomes clear.

LC Privacy Glass has no moving parts, and is virtually soundproof because it’s laminated. The glass can be tempered as well, making it almost indestructible if needed.

This glass can be installed in fixed walls, partitions & sliding walls, as well as in swinging and sliding / breakaway doors found in ICU and Emergency Rooms. Wiring methods range from simple door loops, to electrified hinges, to sophisticated & proprietary power transfer systems for the sliding / breakaway doors.

Control of eGlass® can be via a wall switch, motion detector, remote control, or from a nurse’s station. In the event of a power failure, the glass always defaults to the private state. Cleaning and sanitizing the environment is as simple as spraying the surface with a disinfecting antibacterial solution and wiping with a paper towel – making it ideal for ICU’s, Emergency Rooms, Nurseries & Conference Rooms.

LC Privacy Glass has many diverse widespread applications in the health care sector. This technology has solved numerous privacy and maintenance concerns & has been successfully implemented in many areas through-out a typical facility.

Here are some examples:

• Triage / Patient Admittance Offices – LC Privacy Glass is used in the doors and partition windows at St. Francis Hospital to provide the incoming patients a completely private, discrete environment for case interviews.




• Emergency Rooms – LC Privacy Glass is used in St Francis Hospital & North Shore University Medical Center in the sliding break-away doors, allowing the nurses and staff to continuously monitor the patients. When the doctor wants to examine and consult with the patient, he simply hits the switch on the wall for complete privacy. Disinfection of the room is quick and easy for patient change-over.




• ICU rooms – The switchable eGlass® is installed in the sliding breakaway doors in Memorial Sloan Kettering Hospital’s Intensive Care rooms in NYC. This enables the nurses and doctors to centrally monitor the patients, and conduct exams in complete privacy.




• Physician Offices – Patients and Doctors can talk and exhibit models in complete privacy, yet still be connected with the outer hallway and environment.




• Nurseries & Infant Incubators – LC Privacy Glass allows family members to view newborns in the nursery, however the nurses can instantly switch the LC Privacy Glass to private for emergency care and routine procedures.




• MRI – LC Privacy Glass is often used in MRI labs, between the technician’s equipment control console and the MRI apparatus. At Stonybrook University Hospital, the glass is switched to private while the patient is readied and prepped for their procedure. Once the patient is settled and comfortable, the glass can be switched to clear for technician and doctor monitoring.




• Operating Rooms – eGlass® is used in the Cath Labs at Montifiore Medical Center to enable the patients to enter into the room in complete privacy without external distractions or added stress. Once the patient is sedated and calm, the glass is switched to clear so the surgeon, doctors & technicians can communicate & start the operation.




• Family Waiting Rooms – Switchable LC Privacy Glass is used in the waiting areas at Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital so family members can wait for results in an open airy environment. When a confidential family meeting is needed, the glass can be switched to private.




• Telepresence Rooms – Miami Children’s Hospital has used LC Privacy Glass in the high tech TeleHealth Center to enable doctors to privately teleconference with other specialists in complete privacy. When the pod is not being used, the glass remains in the clear state, thereby showcasing the high tech equipment for all to view.




• Dental Offices – At Royal Heights Dental, LC Privacy Glass is used to display dental equipment & apparatus when not being used, yet switched to private during procedures. This creates a unique, impressive and interesting experience for the patients.




• Conference Rooms – eGlass® is very commonly used in conference rooms where openness and privacy can co-exist. This allows doctors to collaborate and teleconference in complete privacy, and switch to clear for an open and airy look when unoccupied.




• Pharmacist / Patient Consultation Rooms – LC Privacy Glass is now being used in several pharmacies across the country for patient consultations. This allows for private consultation and administering of vaccines, and insures patient dignity and privacy.




• Psychiatric Wards – LC Privacy Glass can be provided in attack-rated configurations as well. The electrified active LC film component is laminated between multiple layers of glass and polycarbonate, to withstand 30 & 60 minute aggressive attacks. It has also been provided with 1-way mirror so patients can be monitored at will, and cannot see out.

LC Privacy Glass addresses many issues in the healthcare environment – from visual privacy, to audible privacy and preservation of patient dignity. LC Privacy Glass helps to reduce the spread of germs and infectious diseases, and is maintenance free, as opposed to traditional fabric curtain dividers. Initial upfront costs will be higher than simple curtains and blinds, but the long-term, continuous benefits are a cost-effective tradeoff.

About Innovative Glass Corp:

Innovative Glass is a New York based company that specializes in creating a providing dynamic & switchable glass solutions to several industries since 2003, using their proprietary eGlass products. eGlass® marries glass with electronics, giving full control of light, privacy, sunglare & heat gain automatically, or at the touch of a button. In addition to LC Privacy Glass, the firm also offers room-darkening SPD SmartGlass, and sunlight-responsive, self-tinting SolarSmart Glass for exterior facades & applications.