HOUSTON – Medical scrubs have been around for decades, but a group of Houston men are revolutionizing the industry, promising better protection for hospital staff and their patients.
After nine seasons in the NFL, Bert Emanuel turned his focus to performance apparel, supplying 800,000 high tech suits to the US Military. He was then contacted by fellow Langham Creek and Rice University grad Dr. Rick Ngo who was interested in creating high tech gear for medical professionals.
Bert Emanuel, President & CEO of Lango Shels, told Local 2, "There's a definite need for a product like this."
Houston General Surgeon Dr. Rick Ngo added, "There have been numerous studies on stethoscopes and ties and lab coats harboring bacteria and possibly being a mode of transmission of infection between patients, so we wanted to develop a scrub that we call a MEDSUIT that affords protection to ourselves and more importantly our patients."
Emanuel and Ngo along with friends Dr. Core La and Mark Martinez developed the MEDSUIT, luxury, made to measure, anti-microbial, high performance scrubs.
The game changer: copper.
Emanuel explained, "Copper as a natural element is anti-microbial, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal and so when we weave it into the yarns or fabric, it becomes more protective."
According to the EPA, copper ions kill 99 percent of bacteria within two hours.
The MEDSUIT also has several features which eliminate the need for lab coats, another germ carrier.
There's a badge clip, pen holder, specially designed smartphone pocket and a jewelry clip to prevent doctors from losing their rings when they scrub in.
Ob/Gyn Dr. Core La said, "I rarely wear a ring because I lose it. But now, we have a place to clip your ring, you can clip your watch to it... We took away all the extraneous stuff you don't need. We just went really basic."
Emanuel added, "We want to really provide a high end product that looks good, that feels great and protects at the same time."
The MEDSUIT cost $400 and is available in navy, gray and black.
Because they are hand tailored locally, production time is about four to six weeks.