TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The National Health Research Institutes and Taoyuan General Hospital have developed a hand hygiene monitoring system to ensure medical personnel wash their hands properly before coming into contact with patients.
Liao Lun-de (廖倫德), deputy director of the Institute of Biomedical Engineering and Nanomedicine at the National Health Research Institutes, said that up to 70% of hospital-acquired infections can be prevented through handwashing. However, he noted that only 40% of health care workers worldwide, on average, follow proper hand hygiene practices, per CNA.
The system does not use cameras for sensing, which avoids compromising the privacy of health care workers, Liao said. Instead, the system uses Bluetooth signals to track the location of hospital staff and combines sensors and ultrasonic technology to measure handwashing duration and movements.
Liao noted the system can be installed at hand sanitizer dispensers to monitor the amount used. It can also detect whether handwashing lasts the recommended 40 seconds. If the duration is too short, a red light will alert the user, and future versions of the device will include vibration alerts as well.
According to Taoyuan General Hospital, the system has been implemented in the hospital’s intensive care unit, achieving a 72% accuracy rate. It can also be quickly installed on hospital equipment to meet the specific needs of various medical facilities, Liao added.
The study was published in the international journal Global Challenges in December. Chen Wei-chien (陳為堅), vice president of the National Health Research Institutes, highlighted that the system can help reduce the burden of manual supervision of hygiene practices.
Cheng Shu-hsing (鄭舒倖), deputy director at the hospital, added that in 2021, the hospital experienced Taiwan's first COVID-19 outbreak originating inside a medical facility. The incident began when an ICU doctor failed to properly sanitize his hands after performing intubation, leading to his infection and a subsequent chain of transmissions.
In May, Tri-Service General Hospital also launched an AI-powered hand hygiene monitoring device equipped with sensors to detect handwashing behavior. When the device identifies areas that have not been properly cleaned, the system immediately highlights these spots on a screen to remind users.
