Transcript The SaniGator: Our Key to Infection Reduction in LTCFs

Arya Sedehi ● Eric Esposito ● Lubna Rashid
Healthcare Design of The Future Class (HS 8803) Fall 2011
Health Systems Institute
Georgia Institute of Technology
The Problem
Healthcare acquired infections are a major factor leading
to hospital readmissions, particularly for patients living
in post-discharge facilities, such as Long-Term Care
Facilities (LTCFs)
How Serious is the Problem?
Statistics show that:
 26-50% of hospital transfers from LTCFs are due to
infections.
 1.6 to 3.8 million infections occur annually in LTCFs.
 600,000 patients from LTCFs are admitted to hospitals
every year.
 The compliance rate with hand hygiene is less than
50% in hospitals, and even less in post-discharge
facilities.
Key to Solution: Hand Hygiene
 Hand sanitation is regarded as the most common
means of transmission of antibiotic-resistant bacteria,
hence facilitating the spread of infection.
Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus, the most common HAI-causing bacteria
 Since compliance rates with hand sanitation are so low,
how could it be enhanced?
The SaniGator
Our Solution: The use of a motion-dependent, alcoholbased, hand-sanitizer spray dispenser to be placed above
door handles in post-discharge facilities; the SaniGator.
The Goal: To automatically sanitize the hands of patients
and healthcare personnel upon entering any room in the
facility, particularly patient wards.
The SaniGator
Easilyreplaceable
sanitizer
cartridge, lasts
up to 340 sprays
The SaniGator
Lid to close
the cartridge
cavity
Detailed view of
the interior of
the device.
Cross sectional
view of the
SaniGator
Battery Cavity,
device requires
2 AA batteries
to operate
Conclusion
 We believe that by using the SaniGator, compliance
rates with hand-hygiene will be boosted, thus
reducing the impact of HAIs on readmissions
 The device is portable, easily-refillable, inexpensive
device, and an easy solution to the compliance
problem.