A wearable sensor system for hand hygiene compliance tracking

Project Summary This Small Business Innovation Research Fast Track project aims to develop a wearable sensor system for hand hygiene compliance tracking and validate its efficacy through a pilot trial in clinical settingsHealthcareAssociated InfectionsHAIsare the most common type of complication for patients who are hospitalizedAccording to the Center for Disease Control and Preventioninthere were an estimatedHAIs in U Sacute care hospitals that led to aboutdeaths and more than $billion in healthcare costs per yearThe most effective strategy to improve hand hygiene compliance includes monitoring hand hygiene behaviors andin turnimplementing performance based interventionsTodaynearly all hospitals worldwide are still relying on direct observation to monitor healthcare providershand hygiene compliancewhich is not only costlylabor intensivetime consuminginaccurate due to observer biasbut also inadequate since this technique only captures a small sample size of all hand hygiene opportunitiesTherefore there is a vast market demand for electronic hand hygiene surveillance systems that can monitor providershand hygiene compliance automatically and continuouslyIn this researchwe willfirst develop a minimum viable product of the sensor system and assess its performance in lab settingsconduct amonth crossoverrandomized pilot study to test the performance of the sensor system in clinical settings anddevelop a minimal marketable product for commercializationWe expect the proposed research to improve the hand hygiene practices and compliance rate of healthcare providers and ultimately reduce healthcare associated infection rate Project Narrative This Small Business Innovation Research project aims to develop a novel wearable sensor system to track and improve the hand hygiene compliance of healthcare providersSuccessful completion of the project and subsequent implementation of the system in healthcare settings could lead to reduction of the transmission of healthcare associated infections