We took great delight in seeing the "Something for the Weekend" team enjoy trying out the Cleankeys keyboard, this morning on BBC2.

Tim Lovejoy seemed impressed that the smooth glass keyboard was "quite nice to type on, actually!"

They also demonstrated how easy it is to clean and keep sterile.

We'll even let them off for calling it a "Cleanways" keyboard at the end.

Find out more here.

Or take a look at the programme.

In environments where hygiene is essential, bacteria is easily spread and hard to control. Computer keyboards add to the spread of germs, and is a source which is often ignored.

The Department of Health advise that conventional keyboards should be replaced with "easy clean" keyboards in dental practices. Keytools can help you comply with this legislation.

CleanKeys
A standard keyboard takes time and effort to keep clean. The CleanKeys keyboard has no nooks or crannies to harbour dirt and bacteria, making it one of the world's easiest keyboards to clean, and extremely resistant to bacterial growth.

CleanKeys is unique in its "clean-ability" - simply wipe the smooth glass surface with your choice of disinfectant.

Key benefits

* Easy to clean - spray and wipe
* Quick to clean - cleans in 10 seconds
* Touch sensitive - touch directly or through gloves

The perfect solution
"CleanKeys ticks all my boxes for infection control. Nothing can be caught or trapped in the keyboard. And with the in-built mouse, it's the perfect solution."
R. Moody, Health & Safety Manager, South London and Maudsley NHS Trust

Speak to the experts
For 20 years, Keytools has been a leading supplier of specialist computer keyboards. Our expert knowledge means we have provided IT access to the healthcare sector for many years, during which a detailed understanding of the medical sector has developed.

Our dedicated Medical Unit can give you all the help and support you need to ensure you complying with legislation.

Call Leanne Newell on 023 8029 4517 or email here for more information.

This week, the Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Alliance (ARMA) is launching a new 'charter for work', calling on policymakers, employers and healthcare professionals to take action to decrease the number of people with MSDs.

Read the BBC news story here

According to ARMA:

* MSDs are the second biggest cause of work-limiting health problems and sickness absence in the UK, responsible for up to 10 millions lost working days in 2008/09

* The cost of MSDs to society is over £7 billion

The charter contains actions developed in partnership with NHS employers, The Royal College of Nursing and The Work Foundation. The actions are:

* Better flexible working arrangements and training of line managers
* The delivery of integrated services to ensure early diagnosis and treatment
* Ensuring an open dialogue between employers and staff to manage conditions

We're delighted that the pain and cost of MSDs are being highlighted and more is being done to prevent MSDs from happening in the first place.

We'll continue to monitor the 'new work charter' and do our bit to spread the news about MSD preventative strategies.

The Goldtouch and the Evoluent make perfect ergonomic partners. Designed to fit you, they offer unmatched comfort and adjustability.

And during March you can get both for £100!

Goldtouch keyboard and Evoluent mouse

Goldtouch normally £139
Evoluent normally £65

NOW ONLY £100 for both!

That's a saving of £104!

The Goldtouch Keyboard and Evoluent Mouse combo is at a special offer price for a limited period only so hurry!

The Goldtouch Keyboard and the Evoluent Mouse have been favourites with you for sometime now.

We think they make perfect ergonomic partners, and it seems you agree.

So, from Monday 1st March and for a limited time only, we've got a special offer you won't be able to refuse.

Credit cards at the ready!

Watch this space ...

Keytools is proud to be involved in the government's Home Access programme, which provides computers and connectivity to low-income families to enhance their learning.

As experts with 20 years experience in Assistive Technology, Keytools has been chosen to provide the assistive technology hardware to ensure access for all in the programme.

Now available on the BECTA website - everything you need to know about Home Access Assistive Technology - including a short film highlighting some of the brilliant products Keytools supply - such as BigKeys and BigTrack.

See the products in action here

For more information on computer access solutions, call Keytools on 023 8029 4500.

Below is an extract from a recent article in Ability magazine (Winter 2009). It featured RSI expert, Paul Goddard of Keytools.


Repetitive strain injury (RSI) may have vanished from the newspapers as an issue for users of computers – but it's far from disappeared in real life. Is RSI in fact set, swine flu-like, for a second and much more disruptive wave than it did in the 1980s when it first began to be talked about?

“The combination of bad posture and cramped laptop use will inevitably increase the number of people with MSDs (musculo-skeletal disorders) and RSI problems in the future,” says Paul Goddard, of Keytools.

”How come the most common cause of people being off sick is already MSDs?”

“Working in very small spaces like iPod screens, you can easily see how flickering fingers and gesture techniques are going to be heavily repetitive,” warns Goddard. “No doubt we will be hunching over tiny screens and straining our eyes for quite a while yet.”

There are two solutions. One, avoid getting RSI in the first place; two, there are now lots of technologies and products to help if you do start feeling you're in danger or even have to start living with the condition.

Want to avoid RSI, asks Goddard rhetorically? Change your behaviour.

“It's how you work - not the machine - that is putting your health at risk. It's too easy to adopt bad posture even if you have a good chair. If you can develop the habit of checking what you are doing and then doing something to change it, you are half way there. Your body is not constructed to spend long hours sitting so do it less.”

To discuss preventing RSI in your organisation call us on 023 8029 4500.