New scanner tests hand hygiene of care providers
UZ Gent is the first hospital in Belgium to use the Semmelweis scanner, which tests hands for proper hygiene
Fighting hospital bacteria
The Semmelweis scanner, developed by the University of Budapest and named after the 19th-century Hungarian pioneer in hand hygiene, is easy to use, said UZ Gent. Care providers first disinfect their hands with a special product and then put them in the slot of the scanner.
After a few seconds, a screen shows them which zones are not adequately disinfected. Areas coloured in green are sufficiently disinfected, those coloured red are not.
The scanner will move every two weeks to different departments at the hospital. It also stores all results, so the hand hygiene methods can be monitored across the entire hospital.
“Hand hygiene is very important in the fight against hospital bacteria,” said Isabel Leroux-Roels, a specialist in the prevention of infections at UZ Gent. “We want to increase awareness around the proper techniques for hand disinfection.”
According to the last national campaign on hand hygiene, about one-quarter of cases of disinfection of the hands in Belgian hospitals is not adequate. The federal government’s public health agency organises such a campaign every two years.
Photo courtesy UZ Gent
