HAND HYGIENE COMPLICANCE CONFIRMATION SYSTEM

• US 20150048940A1
• Filed: 08/17/2012
• Published: 02/19/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 08/17/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Biovigil Hygiene Technologies LLC (BioVigil Healthcare Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Xhale, Inc.
• Inventors: Melker, Richard, Keown, Sam, Klusty, Mark, Laster, Eric, Wohltjen, Henry, Youngblood, Ronald
• Granted Patent: US 9,478,118 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/539.12
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/245 Reminder of hygiene compliance policies, e.g. of washing hands
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 19/0076 Body hygiene; Dressing; Knot tying
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 10/40 for data related to laboratory analysis, e.g. patient specimen analysis
• 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 Compliance Confirmation System (HHCCS) is disclosed for confirmation of compliance with Hand Hygiene Compliance Procedures (HHCPs) with minimized Response Time (RT) delay.

Claims

1. A Hand Hygiene Compliance Confirmation System (HHCCS) comprising:

a. a Hand Hygiene Composition Dispenser (HHCD);

b. a Hand Hygiene Composition Dispenser Monitor (HHCDM); and

c. a Hand Hygiene Compliance Monitor (HHCM);

wherein said HHCDM detects when said HHCD dispenses Hand Hygiene Composition (HHC) and signals said HHCM to start a clock so that if the hands of a person are presented to said HHCM within a pre-defined period of time from the time that said HHCDM sends said signal to said HHCM, said HHCM sends a signal to at least one display to indicate hand hygiene compliance, referred to as a Green Light Condition or GLC.

2. The HHCCS according to claim 1 wherein said system further comprises a Personnel Identification Badge Monitor (PIBM) which confirms the identity of a person carrying a Personnel Identification Badge (PIB) upon reaching a pre-defined proximity to said HHCD.

3. The HHCCS according to claim 1 wherein, when said HHCM receives said signal from said HHCDM that HHC has been dispensed, said HHCM initiates a routine selected from the group consisting of:

(1) initiating a sensor, and optionally a fan for drawing in and directing air over the sensor, of a detectable marker on or emanating from the skin of a hand or hands presented to the HHCM, if the HHC contains such a marker;

(2) initiating a configurable timer from the time the HHCM receives the signal from the HHCDM that HHC has been dispensed; and

(3) a Secondary Confirmation Signal (SCS) generator, selected from the group consisting of a motion detector, an infrared detector, or the like, so that, whether a detectable marker is present in the HHC or not, a SCS is generated to confirm that a hand or hands of a person have been detected by the SCS generator within the time configured into the configurable timer.

4. The HHCCS according to claim 3 which includes a TOF system for determining the location of any person in a facility in which said HHCCS is deployed.

5. The HHCCS according to claim 4 in which the GLC of any person in a facility in which said HHCCS is deployed is stored in a database.

6. The HHCCS according to claim 1 which provides any of a plurality of levels of verification of hand hygiene compliance.

7. The HHCCS according to claim 1 wherein said plurality of levels of verification of hand hygiene compliance includes:

i. a second level (Level II) which includes verification of HHCD actuation and detection of a hand presented for such level of verification within a configured time frame from the time of detection of actuation of the HHCD;

ii. a third level (Level III) which includes verification of HHCD actuation and detection of a hand presented for such level of verification within a configured time frame from the time of detection of actuation of the HHCD, and detection of a marker included in the HHC on or emanating from the hand presented for verification in the second level; and

iii. a fourth level (Level IV) which includes verification of HHCD actuation and detection of a marker included in the HHC on or emanating from the hand(s).

8. The HHCCS according to claim 7 which, in addition to any of said plurality of compliance levels, also accommodates compliance at a first level, (Level I), requiring only verification of HHCD actuation.

9. The HHCCS according to claim 1, which implements a probabilistic model to ensure that HCWs are actually practicing good hand hygiene procedures, comprising data acquisition and analysis to confirm:

a. that for HHCMs located adjacent to soap dispensers, only Level I or Level II events are detected, and that a Level III events are only detected at HHCMs positioned adjacent HHCDs which dispense HHCs containing a marker which can be definitively detected on or emanating from the hand(s) presented to the HHCM.

10. The HHCCS according to claim 8 wherein Level I events are credited as representing “

possible hand hygiene compliance events”

, Level II events are credited as representing “

probable hand hygiene compliance events”

, (since the hands are actually detected under at the HHCM within the configured time frame), and Level III events are credited as representing “

documented hand hygiene compliance events”

, provided there are no missing elements in the chain of the event for a given Level event to be confirmed.

11. The HHCCS according to claim 1 wherein when said HHCDM detects when said HHCD dispenses Hand Hygiene Composition (HHC) said HHCCS, via said HHCDM or said HHCM, confirms, via communication between a PIBM, included in said HHCDM, in said HHCM, or in a separate housing, and a PIB carried by a person when they are the only person close enough to activate said HHCD.

12. The HHCCS according to claim 11 wherein said PIBM, on detecting said person and communicating with said person'"'"'s PIB, sends a signal, via a wired or wireless communication means, both the identity of the person and their GLC for any hand hygiene procedure conducted at that HHCM, said signal being received and stored as data in at least one central database, said data being available for analysis of hygiene compliance trends across a facility in which said HHCS is implemented.

13. The HHCCS according to claim 12 which, over time, analyzes said stored data for a facility in which said system is implemented to reveal:

a. remedial action that could be taken to ensure compliance if any personnel are identified to be consistently or sporadically non-compliant;

b. the GLC status of personnel in the facility is utilized to assist in tracking any infections that are spread inside the facility by correlating when and where such infections occur and comparing that data with the data in the database relating to which individuals have or have not complied with the Hand Hygiene Compliance Procedures (HHCPs) of the facility.

14. The HHCCS according to claim 3 wherein increased sensor sensitivity, reliability or both of said sensor is achieved by said HHCM causing said sensor, on receiving said signal from said HHCDM, to take a reading of ambient air prior to hand presentation to establish a baseline sensor signal reading.

15. A HHCCS apparatus comprising:

at least one HHCD containing HHC for dispensing onto the hands of personnel in a facility;

at least one HHCDM which detects dispensing of HHC from said HHCD and which generates a signal on detecting such dispensing;

at least one HHCM which receives said signal from said HHCDM and, in response to receipt of the signal, initiates a count-down timer for detection of any one or a combination of the following;

a detectable marker or a hand presentation.

16. A method for confirming hand hygiene compliance in a facility which requires hand hygiene compliance comprising:

deploying in said facility at least one HHCD containing HHC for dispensing onto the hands of personnel in said facility;

operatively engaging at least one HHCDM which detects dispensing of HHC from said HHCD and which generates a signal on detecting such dispensing;

operatively deploying least one HHCM so as to receive said signal from said HHCDM and, in response to receipt of the signal, initiates a count-down timer for detection of any one or a combination of the following;

a detectable marker or a hand presentation.