While visiting Med in Ireland, the big get-together of Irish companies and all kinds of buyers in the medical device space, we were introduced to the SureWash system. This is an innovative product unlike anything we’ve covered before, the end goal of which is to prevent the spread of infections within clinical facilities.
The SureWash both teaches and verifies proper hand washing techniques of clinical staff, as well as hospital patients and visitors. The user can either go through a short video class on the front facing screen or do a practice session in front of the device to confirm the correct performance of hand washing techniques and to receive feedback on how to improve it. The hand washing techniques are based on protocols established by the World Health Organization, and which are widely accepted around the world.
The system uses a 3D camera and computer vision algorithms to monitor how the two hands are placed against each other and scrubbed. It actually detects the different hand grips and counts how many times each scrub stroke is performed. This is pretty impressive and is innovative application for computer vision technology. It may seem like overkill for something as trivial as hand washing, but improper hand hygiene kills a lot of people and imparts tremendous costs on healthcare systems.
In terms of applying the SureWash system at a hospital, it improves hygiene compliance. By making it a requirement to regularly stop by a SureWash system, doctors and nurses can be drilled at washing their hands right to the point that it becomes a muscle memory thing. Of course, it doesn’t have to be an overused tool, but rather something to remind clinicians of every step and how long to do it for.
Patients at the hospital and people visiting them can also be trained how to wash their hands near washrooms and by wheeling in the SureWash right into a patient’s room. The SureWash is available on a typical wheeled hospital cart or as a portable system that can be setup just about anywhere, so it’s up to each institution to use it as they wish.
Here’s a bit from a demo we got of the SureWash system at the Med in Ireland conference:
Here’s a promo video about the SureWash:
Link: SureWash homepage…
