Two Massachusetts Institute of Technology Media Lab alumni have created smart devices to monitor hand hygiene among hospital staff and ensure compliance with World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines, according to an article on the MIT News website.

The MedSense Clear system includes a badge worn by hospital staff. The badge can tell when a worker comes near or leaves a patient’s side, and whether that worker has used an alcohol-based sanitizer or soap dispenser during those times. 

The badge also vibrates to remind workers to wash up and sends data to a base station that pushes the data to a Web page where individuals can monitor their hand-washing, and administrators can see data about overall hand-hygiene compliance among staff, the article said.

The system also includes beacons installed near patients are tuned to cover small or large areas, creating a “patient zone.”

Another possible application is real-time location of surplus staff — particularly important when there’s a sudden influx of patients in one area of a hospital.

Read the article.