SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR IMPROVING HAND HYGIENE

• US 20140375457A1
• Filed: 06/21/2013
• Published: 12/25/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 06/21/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Marc Howard Diaz
• Original Assignee: Marc Howard Diaz
• Inventors: Diaz, Marc Howard
• Granted Patent: US 9,311,809 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/573.1
• CPC Class Codes: A47K 5/12 for liquid or pasty soap
• CPC Class Codes: A61L 2/0088 Liquid substances
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/245 Reminder of hygiene compliance policies, e.g. of washing hands
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/20 for the management or administration of healthcare resources or facilities, e.g. managing hospital staff or surgery rooms

Abstract

A hand hygiene module and method of instructing and monitoring compliance of a hand hygiene event include a sanitizer dispensing device and the steps of identifying an initiation of a use of the sanitizer dispensing device and actively sequentially providing a plurality of stimuli to a user during the use of the sanitizer dispensing device, the plurality of stimuli including at least one of an audible signaling and a visual signaling and actively sequentially instructing each of a plurality of hygiene steps.

Claims

1. A method for improving hand hygiene compliance comprising:

providing a sanitizer dispensing device;

identifying an initiation of a use of the sanitizer dispensing device; and

actively sequentially providing a plurality of stimuli to a user during the use of the sanitizer dispensing device, the plurality of stimuli including at least one of an audible signaling and a visual signaling and actively sequentially instructing each of a plurality of hygiene steps.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

electronically monitoring the user'"'"'s compliance with the plurality of hygiene steps; and

at least one of;

recording the user'"'"'s compliance with the plurality of hygiene steps;

communicating an indicator of the user'"'"'s compliance with the plurality of hygiene steps; and

displaying an indicator of the user'"'"'s compliance with the plurality of hygiene steps.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the indicator of the user'"'"'s compliance includes at least one of a user-compliant indication and a user noncompliant indication.

4. The method according to claim 2, further comprising:

communicating with a wearable device, the wearable device having a visual indicia with at least two states; and

placing the wearable device into one of the at least two states after electronically monitoring the user'"'"'s compliance with the plurality of hygiene steps.

5. The method according to claim 1 further comprising:

providing a wearable device, the wearable device being operable to communicate through a wireless protocol; and

subsequent to the instructing the plurality of hygiene steps, indicating with the wearable device an indicator of the user'"'"'s compliance with the plurality of hygiene steps.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

identifying the presence of a person in proximity to the sanitizer dispensing device; and

providing a varying stimulus output as a distance between the sanitizer dispensing device and the person varies.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising providing one of a gradually increasing and gradually decreasing stimulus output.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the actively sequentially providing a plurality of stimuli includes:

sequentially providing an active step attention stimulus to each of the plurality of hygiene steps.

9. A method for improving hand hygiene compliance comprising:

providing a first stimulus to a user for stimulating a hand hygiene event, the hand hygiene event having a plurality of hand hygiene steps, the first stimulus including at least one of audible signaling and visual signaling;

identifying an initiation of a use of a sanitizer dispensing device;

actively sequentially providing a plurality of second stimuli to the user during the use of the sanitizer dispensing device, the plurality of second stimuli including at least one of an audible signaling and a visual signaling and actively sequentially instructing the plurality of hand hygiene steps;

monitoring a user'"'"'s compliance with the hand hygiene event; and

alerting of a level of compliance with the hand hygiene event.

10. The method according to claim 9, further comprising:

providing a wearable device; and

communicating to the wearable device the alert of a level of compliance with the hand hygiene event.

11. The method according to claim 10, further comprising:

monitoring the hand hygiene event; and

determining a nominal hand sanitization event.

12. The method according to claim 9, further comprising:

instructing a hand motion for each of the plurality of hand hygiene steps.

13. The method according to claim 9, further comprising:

alerting the user of a need to initiate a subsequent hand hygiene step.

14. The method according to claim 9, further comprising:

providing statistical feedback of hand hygiene statistics over a quantified period of time.

15. A system for facilitating and monitoring a hand hygiene process, the system comprising:

a hand sanitizer dispensing device; and

display operable to actively and sequentially display a plurality of stimuli to a user during the use of the hand sanitizer dispensing device, the plurality of stimuli actively sequentially instructing each of a plurality of hygiene steps.

16. The system according to claim 15, further comprising:

a detector operable to detect a user'"'"'s compliance with the plurality of hand hygiene steps.

17. The system according to claim 15, further comprising:

a wearable device having;

a receiver operable to receive information identifying the user'"'"'s compliance with the plurality of hand hygiene steps; and

at least one indicator operable to communicate the user'"'"'s compliance with the plurality of hand hygiene steps.

18. The wearable device according to claim 17, further comprising:

a timer, wherein the at least one indicator is operable to indicate that an elapsed amount of time has passed since a previous compliance with the hand hygiene event.

19. The system according to claim 15, further comprising:

a display operable to display an indicator of the user'"'"'s compliance with the plurality of hygiene steps.

20. The system according to claim 15, further comprising:

a wearable device dispensing module; and

a controller operable to prevent the wearable device dispensing module from dispensing a wearable device until subsequent to a detection of the user'"'"'s compliance with the plurality of hand hygiene steps.