The cleaning procedure is not only dependent on the chemicals used but also on the personnel performing it. As reported by Toffollutti et al., there are differences between housekeeping and outsourcing cleaning staff in ensuring adequate levels of hygiene; outsourcing cleaning services was associated with a greater incidence of meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and worse patient perceptions of cleanliness [

Moreover, it would be important to evaluate the advantages of implemented cleaning and disinfection protocols with the use of UV-C devices in areas hosting fragile and vulnerable patients, e.g., in intensive care units. The principal limitation is the continuous presence of people in this type of setting. For this reason, it would be worth evaluating strategies aimed at protecting the patient&#x;s safety using protective devices, which may be evaluated for human security during UV-C emission at specific dosages and times.

Although the dose measurement system used in our study (FastCheck Mediland, Taoyuan City , Taiwan) is semi-quantitative, it allowed us to detect if the dose reached adequate values for disinfection and to repeat the application when the value was not satisfactory. However, each dose value exceeded the expected value. This demonstrates that the device was positioned correctly in order to avoid shadow areas, although it was necessary to properly place furniture and equipment to improve the irradiation of all surfaces. In the study conducted by Wong et al., the R-D Rapid Disinfector system (Steriliz, Rochester, NY, USA) was used in a tertiary care hospital to evaluate the incremental benefit of UV-C disinfection in isolation rooms after the discharge of infected patients. The employed robot used four detached sensors to directly measure the UV-C light [

In our study, we evaluated the efficacy of the UV-C treatment only on the reduction in mesophilic growth that mainly represents human contamination, but not on specific pathogens of interest; however, the reduction was very significant, suggesting that this system can easily eliminate pathogens as well. We have previously demonstrated that the adoption of an automated UV-C-disinfection robot in the enhancement of SOP in high-risk settings was successful in reducing pathogens on high-touch surfaces, improving the patient&#x;s safety [

The disinfection of the air with UV-C is performed by irradiating the upper-room air only, the whole room when unoccupied, or the air flowing inside the air-handling units. The study conducted by McGinn et al. demonstrated the feasibility of using a UV-C robotic system to disinfect both air and surfaces in a radiology environment, where it was two and four times faster than currently used chemical approaches [