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It's a well known fact that many serious infections in hospitals are the result of a lack of hand washing, and because patients tend to have weakened immune systems, they are far more prone to catching these infections. For years, doctors, nurses and other hospital staff members have been trying to come up with a simple way to keep their hands clean at all times, but have not found any viable solutions. Acquaintances of Heather Tassone emergency medicine doctor recently read that some hospitals are now using technology - in the form of tracking systems, buzzers and beepers - to remind their employees to either wash their hands, or use sanitizer, at regular intervals. The staff at St Mary's Health Centre in Richmond Heights have been experimenting with a system which was developed by a company in Michigan called Biovigil Inc. All of the employees have been wearing badges which flash a certain colour, depending on how clean their hands are, with green symbolising clean hands, and red unclean. In addition to this, connections of Heather Tassone LinkedIn member learned that the badge can also identify how well a person washes their hands, and creates reports each time, which state whether or not the badge wearer failed or succeeded at washing their hands correctly. At St Mary's, the reports from this gadget show that the employees are extremely vigilant when it comes to hygiene, with just three percent of the total reports noting 'failed hand washing' sessions. Dr Morey Gardner, who works at the hospital, described the technology as being a 'holy grail' item for the prevention of infection. Whilst Biovigil's technology has gotten a great deal of media attention, their devices are not the only option available. Friends of Heather Tassone Facebook member read that another method is currently being tested out at Arrowsight in New York, wherein video monitoring is used to make sure that staff members are cleaning their hands thoroughly. This monitoring system is also being used at the Medical Centre in the University of California, and at the North Shore University Hospital in New York. Another Ohio based company called Akron has created an electronic compliance system called Smart-Link which uses wireless technology to keep track of how often soap dispensers are used. Friends of Heather Tassone in Pittsburgh also heard that hospitals in Wilmington and Chicago are using a similar system called Hand Hygiene Reminder, which was developed by two doctors at the University of Florida. About Hospitals are now experimenting with new technology which tracks how often, and how well staff members wash their hands. Many say that this technology could dramatically reduce the number of hospital borne infections. MEDIA CONTACT: Lucy Gumbarish lucygumbarish@gmail.com London
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