Digital Bracelets Measure Doctors’ Hand Washing

Israeli startup company, Hyginex, has developed a simple system to reduce healthcare risks in hospitals. The company has created digital bracelets that work alongside sensor-embedded soap dispensers to detect if doctors and nurses washed their hands properly. The bracelet has a tiny red LED light to also remind the medical practitioner to wash their hands between patients.

The technology works via a wireless connection and the hygiene regime is tracked and passed on to hospital managers. According to the United States  Center for Disease Control and Prevention, poor hand hygiene lead to infections that lead to over 90,000 deaths per year in the US and cost the economy over $30 billion.

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Digital Hyginex bracelets

The sensors can also tell the length of hand washing and if proper scrubbing has been accomplished. In case of insufficient hand washing, the bracelet alerts the worker when  and the data is sent to the Hyginex server.

According to the company, this is their major advantage over other systems available on the market, since they are the only ones to offer a system that can test the quality of the hand washing – taking both technique and duration into consideration.

The data that is gathered is processed into detailed reports for each worker or department and sent to the hospital manager’s review.

Hyginex, based in Herzliya, Israel, was founded in 2008 by Efrat Raichman after her uncle contracted an infection in a hospital and passed away. The technology has already been integrated in Israel’s Rambam Medical Center, awarding the hospital first place out of 150 projects elected by the heads of the Israel Surgical Association in 2011.