Steriwave ICU Study Findings Selected for Oral Presentation at National Canadian Critical Care Nursing Conference

Ondine Biomedical Inc. (AIM: OBI), a global leader in light-activated antimicrobial therapies, announces that the intensive care unit (“ICU”) infection study featuring Steriwave^® nasal photodisinfection, published in Critical Care on 14 April 2026, has been accepted for both oral and poster presentation at the Canadian Critical Care Nursing Conference (“CACCNC”). This selection is expected to increase visibility and awareness of the study’s findings, which provide new evidence supporting a non-antibiotic approach to reducing nasal pathogens associated with life-threatening infections in the ICU. 

The conference, the premier annual event for the Canadian Association of Critical Care Nurses (“CACCN”), will be held from 29-30 September 2026, at the Delta Prince Edward in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island.

The accepted abstract, titled “Results of a crossover pilot study of nasal photo-disinfection demonstrating significant pathogen reduction in ICU patients”, discusses the findings of the SMURF Feasibility Pilot Study conducted by AIM Royal Columbian Hospital Foundation and the role for nasal photodisinfection in ICU settings. This Canadian-based research, led by RCHF AIM’s Dr Stephen Reynolds and Dr Elizabeth Rohrs, represents a clinical milestone as the world’s first deployment of nasal photodisinfection within an ICU setting.

Carolyn Cross, CEO of Ondine Biomedical, stated:

“As an annual national meeting, the CACCNC provides the ideal stage to introduce Ondine’s nasal photodisinfection protocol to nursing leaders who are instrumental in implementing new safety standards across Canada’s provincial health authorities. With a focus on ‘improving outcomes for the most vulnerable’, the conference highlights the critical role of nursing-led interventions in reducing healthcare-associated infections. The selection of the Steriwave study for oral presentation underscores the conference’s commitment to spotlighting disruptive technologies that address the growing challenge of antimicrobial resistance in the ICU.“

The study, recently published in the Journal of Critical Care, investigated the efficacy of Ondine’s Steriwave nasal photodisinfection therapy, a non-antibiotic technology already demonstrated to reduce SSIs in Canadian and UK hospitals, within the high-stakes environment of critical care.

Key findings include:

• Substantial Decrease in Pneumonia: Top-line results demonstrated a 39.5% reduction in pneumonia rates, falling from 14.9 to 9.0 cases per 1,000 ICU patient-days.
• Significant Pathogen Reduction: The intervention achieved a statistically significant reduction in early cumulative nasal pathogen burden (p < 0.01).
• Safety Demonstrated: No intervention-related adverse events were detected.

The study builds on established evidence supporting nasal decolonisation as a strategy to reduce ICU infection rates, laying a strong foundation for larger follow-on trials with the potential to inform future standards of care in pneumonia prevention.