Radio-Frequency Badges Created to Track Hand-Washing Habits
Radio-Frequency Badges Created to Track Hand-Washing Habits
October 2009
The Texas Tech University System Office of Technology Commercialization is developing a radio-frequency identification (RFID) monitoring system for badges worn by health care and food facility workers to monitor their hand hygiene habits.
According to the University, statistics reveal infections caused by the spread of hospital-originated infections have increased by 109 percent over the past ten years. Simple hand washing can decrease the rate of infect
ion by as much as 48 percent.
“As the regulatory environment for health care shifts and the likelihood of more vigilant insurance increases, the need for such a technology in the present market exists and could prove to be highly profitable.”
The University identifies the restaurant industry and other sanitation-conscious industries such as grocery stores and food packing facilities as secondary markets. Testing has just begun.
Mea
nwhile, General Electric’s Research team has received $2 million from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences to develop wearable RFID sensors to alert people to the presence of environmental chemical agents in the air.
GE’s research is geared toward providing real-time information about the presence of potentially harmful chemical agents i the air. Breath sensors are included, and can potentially identify bio markers, helping to warn against the presence of certain diseases. These sensors can also be placed with an ID badge.
READ PRESS RELEASE: Hand Washing, Prompting and Compliance System by Texas Tech University System Office of Technology Commercialization
READ PRESS RELEASE: GE Scientists Developing Wearable RFID Sensors to Detect Airborne Chemical Agents
For more information on how Metroclean can provide hand-sanitizer stations throughout your building, or to retrofit your restrooms with automatic sensors, please contact Lesli Mann, Director of Business Development at (713) 255-0100 or at lmann@Metrocleanonline.com
Photo courtesy of Telegraph.co.uk.
### © Metroclean 2010. All Rights Reserved
Written by: Dahlia Kelada, Director of Marketing, Metroclean dahliak@metrocleanonline.com
Tags: day cleaning, food facility, health, health care, Safety, sanitation
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