BioVigil LLC has released the second generation of the BioVigil hand hygiene monitoring system. The innovative system enables hospitals to more effectively combat Hospital-Acquired Infections (HAIs) by dramatically increasing hand hygiene compliance among healthcare workers.
HAIs waste over $20-30 billion each year, with as many as one in ten hospital patients picking up a secondary infection while spending time in a hospital. Infections are particularly dangerous for patients recovering from surgery, with as many as 99,000 deaths per year in the United States alone attributed to HAIs.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC), hand hygiene is the single most effective way to combat hospital-acquired infections. As a result, 34 states have implemented standards which require hospitals to improve on hand hygiene.
The second-generation BioVigil system incorporates innovative badge technology and related sensors to effectively monitor hand hygiene compliance in hospitals. The system verifies the use of hand sanitizer in every patient's room, and records compliance data in a secure database.
"Our second-generation system solves the accuracy problems that are inherent in RF-based sensors," explains Brian Sheahan, Chief Executive Officer for BioVigil LLC. "An RF-based system does not have the accuracy and sensitivity which our system offers. We know with 100% accuracy when a healthcare worker enters and exits a location. Our system is simple, cost-effective and saves lives.
"In addition, the BioVigil system uses an alcohol sensor on the ID badge of the healthcare worker, so that a nurse or doctor can simply enter a patient's room, then use hand sanitizer while approaching the patient's bed and interacting with the patient. We have been able to design a sensor network which makes the system highly user-friendly and patient-friendly. The bright green and red LEDs embedded in the ID badge enable other healthcare personnel and even patients to easily see whether a healthcare worker is in compliance."
Mr. Sheahan noted that BioVigil completed an IRB-approved trial with VCU Medical Center during September 2009, validating the successful operation of its second-generation BV-140 technology. Dr. Michael Edmond of VCU Medical Center will be presenting results of the trial at the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA) conference in Atlanta, GA on Sunday, March 21, 2010 at 11:45 a.m.