Best of What's New 2009

Xhale HyGreen

A wireless sensor in hospitals tracks which staffers are scrubbing up properly, and tags those who aren't

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Xhale HyGreen Courtesy Elena Casson/Xhale

A quick hand washing could keep hospital staff from spreading germs that lead to nearly two million in-hospital infections a year. The HyGreen system reminds them to scrub—and keeps a record of who doesn’t. After cleaning their hands with alcohol-based sanitizers, doctors and nurses place them under the HyGreen sensor that sniffs for alcohol, which kills 99.99 percent of germs, and sends a wireless “all clean” message to a badge worn on the person’s shirt pocket.

A wireless monitor on patient beds searches for the message—if it’s absent, the badge vibrates, reminding the wearer to sanitize his hands. During a five-month field test of HyGreen at the University of Florida’s medical center, infection rates dropped to zero.
Price varies by hospital size; gohygreen.com

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