Method and system for determining whether an individual takes appropriate measures to prevent the spread of healthcare-associated infections

A system and method for caregivers, central monitoring companies and other persons to monitor whether individuals entering patients' rooms take appropriate steps to mitigate the spread of healthcare associated infections to the patients receiving healthcare services. Though data from one or more of 3D Motion and Sound Sensors, individuals within a room may be tracked within a virtual zone, and the virtual zone may be shift based on the location of the person. It may be determined whether an individual within the virtual zone washed or sanitized his or her hands prior to entering the room or the virtual zone and may notify caregivers or other persons of individuals approaching the virtual zone in general or without completing a health-care associated infection mitigation action.

BACKGROUND

Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) are infections that are acquired by patients during the course of receiving treatment for other health conditions. According to recent studies, one in every twenty hospitalized patients will acquire an infection during the course of receiving healthcare treatment for a different condition. In terms of the economic impact, studies estimate the overall annual direct medical costs of HAIs range between $28.4 and $45 billion. The medical facility must typically bear the cost of the HAI which puts a strain on the finances of the healthcare provider.

SUMMARY AND DEFINITIONS

The disclosure describes a system and method that is directed to the above problems and provides for a system and method that allows caregivers, central monitoring companies and other persons to monitor whether individuals entering patients' rooms take appropriate steps to mitigate the spread of HIAs to the patients receiving healthcare services. In one non-limiting example, the system and method determine whether an individual who has entered the room of a patient has washed his or her hands prior to approaching the patient.

Non-limiting definitions that will be used in describing certain embodiments of the present invention include:

3D Motion andAn electronic device that contains one or moreSound Sensorcameras capable of identifying individualobjects, people and motion regardless oflighting conditions, as well as one or moremicrophones to detect audio. The camerascan utilize technologies including but notlimited to color RGB, CMOS sensors, infraredprojectors and RF-modulated light. They mayalso contain microprocessors and imagesensors to detect and process information bothsent out and received by the various cameras.The electronic device can calculate if there hasbeen a change in location of a person or objectof interest over a period of time. As a non-limiting example, a person's right knee canbe at time T1 located at coordinates (x1, y1, z1)in a picture frame taken by the camera. At timeT2 the right knee is capture by the pictureframe taken by the camera at coordinates(x2, y2, z2). Based on this information, motion,speed and direction can be derived utilizing theelapsed time and comparing the two 3Dcoordinates over the elapsed time. As opposedto conventional motion sensors, which usecaptured motion to control a camera, the 3DMotion and Sound Sensor used with the methodand system, uses the camera in order to computethe motion.The camera/sensors are preferably continuouslyon at all times while the monitoring is occurring,regardless of whether a person or object ofinterest is moving or not moving. The camerapreferably views the entire room or a largeportion of the room simply by its placement in amanner sufficient for the room to be visible to thecamera. Thus, the camera does not require anytriggering event to cause the camera to beginrecording video or transmitting video to the othercomponents of the system for analysis. As thevideo camera is recording or otherwise transmittingvideo to the other system components at all timesduring monitoring, the electronic device is able toimmediately track, capture and/or record theindividual's movements at all times within thepatient's room and will be able to provideinformation as to whether and when the individualenters the room, whether and when the individualwashed his or her hands, whether and when theindividual approaches the patients, whether andwhen the individual leaves the room, etc.Preferably the 3D Motion and Sound Sensorrecords, captures and/or streams video. As video istechnically made up of individual picture frames(i.e. 30 frames per second of video), the abovereference to picture frames is referring to framesof video.The 3D Motion and Sound Sensor is locatedwithin the room of the patient being monitoredand potentially just outside of the patient's room.It is connected to the computerized communicationand computerized monitoring systems via a dataconnection (TCP/IP or comparable technology).ComputerizedA computer system programmed to monitorMonitoringactivity of the 3D Motion and Sound sensor(s).SystemThe computerized monitoring system willpreferably be located within the patient's roomand can be connected to the centralized monitoringstation at the facility but can also be located atany physical location so long as a data connection(TCP/IP or comparable technology) exists betweenthe computerized monitoring system, thecomputerized communication system, and 3Dmotion and sound sensor. The computerizedmonitoring system preferably makes thedetermination of a whether and when theindividual approaches the patient and whetherand when the individual washed his or her handsprior to approaching the patient based on the datareceived by the video camera sensors.ComputerizedA computer system programmed to facilitateCommunicationcommunication between the patient and/orSystemindividual and computerized monitoring systemin the event it is determined that the individualdid not wash his or her hands prior to approachingthe patient. This system may include but is notlimited to amplified speakers, microphones, lights,monitors, computer terminals, mobile phones andor other technologies to allow for the electroniccommunication to take place. The system can alsobe designed to notify the individual that they needto wash their hands also through a text message orother electronic message sent to the individual'ssmart phone, pager, etc. The computerizedcommunication system will preferably be locatedwithin the patient's room being monitored butcertain components of the system are mobile bytheir nature (i.e. mobile phones, pagers, comput-ers) and can also be located at any location solong as a data connection (TCP/IP or comparabletechnology) exists between the computerizedmonitoring system, the computerized communic-ation system, and 3D motion and sound sensor.Healthcare-Infections acquired by individuals while receivingassociatedhealthcare services in an institutional setting orinfection (HIA)other location where the healthcare services arebeing providedCentralizedA computer display connected to the centralizedMonitoringmonitoring station, showing video and audio of allPrimary Displaypatient rooms connected to the centralizedmonitoring station.CentralizedA computer display connected to the centralizedMonitoringmonitoring station, showing video and audio ofAlert Displayany patient room where it was determined that anindividual is approaching or has approached apatient or has entered into a safety zone andsuch individual has not washed their hands,preferably the display of the specific individual/room on the alert display is made at the momentsuch determination is made.System DatabaseA computer database that electronically storesrecords of all alerts generated, notifications,confirmation requests, responses, reconfirmationrequests and any other desired informationconcerning the individual's entry, visit, movements,actions and/or exit within the patient's room.CaregiverA relative, friend, individual, company or facilitywhose purpose is to provide assistance in thecare of daily living activities for individuals whoare disabled, injured, elderly or otherwise in needof assistance.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

A hand-washing compliance determination for an individual entering a patient's room, prior to the individual approaching the patient is illustrated inFIG. 1. Hand-washing compliance is considered non-limiting and the system and method can be used to determine if the individual is compliant with other activities or events prior, during or after approaching the patient, including, but not limited to, other activities that if not undertaken are also known to assist or aid in the spread of HIAs.

Specifically,FIG. 1shows the workflow for monitoring whether an individual takes appropriate measures to prevent the spread of HAIs through the use of 3D Motion and Sound sensors. At step F1a, one or more 3D Motion and Sound sensors can be installed in a patient's room, home, hospital room, or other place of temporary or permanent residence. At step F1b, the one or more 3D Motion and Sound sensors can be configured to recognize the patient and other individuals using biometric identifiers such as facial recognition, height, distance between points on the body, etc. Alternatively or additionally, a virtual three-dimensional zone around the patient can be created through a software application portion of the system to define an area around the patient. The individual being a certain predetermined distance from the area or entering the area can be recognized as the event for determining that the individual is approaching the patient.

Furthermore, as the system can be programmed to recognize the patient as described above and below, the system can also be programmed to allow the virtual zone around the patient to follow the patient, if the patient moves around the room or out of the bed. As a non-limiting example, if the patient is sitting in a chair within the room, as the system recognizes the patient by the biometric identifiers, the location virtual zone can he shifted so that it remains around the patient while the patient sits in the chair. Accordingly, the determination of whether the individual is approaching the patient can be then made based on the patient's current position in the chair. Other non-limiting examples include the patient being in the restroom, the patient looking out their window, etc.

At step F1c, data from the one or more 3D Motion and Sound sensors are sent to a computerized monitoring system. At step F1d, when (or if) the computerized monitoring system detects or determines an individual, who is not the patient, entering the area (such as the virtual area discussed above) where a patient resides and approaching the patient it will make a record in the database of such event and attempt to determine whether an appropriate measure has been taken by said individual to mitigate the spread of infection using one or more methods including but not limited to washing their hands or utilizing hand sanitation soaps, gels or lotions. Where the location of the hand sanitizer, sink, etc. is outside of the patient's room, one or more additional 3D Motion and Sound sensors can be positioned and configured in order to determine (capture) whether the individual washed and/or sanitized their hands prior to entering the patient's room. This captured video can also be stored and/or reviewed by the Computerized Monitoring System when the system makes its determination. Depending on the setup of the particular room, the location of a 3D Motion and Sound sensor and/or the coverage area seen capabilities of the 3D Motion and Sound sensor, it is possible that a single 3D Motion and Sound sensor may be able to provide information concerning the patient's defined virtual zone and also provide the information regarding whether the individual washed his or her hands, etc.

“Washing hands”, “Washing his or her hands”, etc. shall be defined to include traditional hand washing, hand sanitizing, etc.

A record can also be electronically entered in a database to record a lack of compliance and/or compliance by the individual. Where the individual is in compliance, the computerized monitoring, system will continually monitor the data being sent from the one or more 3D motion and sound sensors. Additionally, where a lack of compliance is detected, the computerized monitoring system can be programmed to automatically begin, or manually restarted to begin, again monitoring data from the one or more 3D motion and sound sensors. However, at all times during operation, the 3D motion and sound sensors are on and are capturing, recording and/or streaming video from the room and/or just outside the room, and do not require a triggering event to initiate recording.

At step F1e, when the system detects that an appropriate action has been taken by the individual to mitigate the spread of infections, a record can be made in the database and audible and/or visible alerts can be issued to the individual acknowledging said compliance. Should the individual continue to approach or remain in the vicinity of the patient without having taken appropriate steps to mitigate the spread of infections, an audible and/or visible alert to such individual, notifying said individual of the need to take preventative measures to prevent the spread of infections can be sent by the computerized communication system. Other personal notifications to the individual can also be sent such as calling the individual's cell phone or smart phone, sending a text message, calling the individual's pager, etc. The system can monitor, using gesture recognition, location tracking or other measures whether said individual has taken appropriate steps to mitigate the spread of infection such as washing their hands or utilizing hand sanitation soaps, gels or lotions. Particularly with location tracking, virtual zones can also be defined around the hand washing sink, to determine or detect if the individual entered the sink zone prior to approaching the patient. It is also within the scope of the invention, to provide a water flow sensor which can be in electronic communication with one or more components of the system (i.e. computerized monitoring system). The water flow sensor can be provided or in communication with the water flow line of the sink, such that when the hot and/or cold water valve of the sink is opened to permit water flow into the sink, the sensor sends a signal representing such information to the system.

At step F1f, if the individual approaching the patient or within close proximity to the patient fails to comply with the audible and/or visible warnings to comply, notification can be given to the caregivers, individual's employer and/or other designated persons that the individual has failed to comply. Notification of caregivers can be made through phone call, text messaging, speakerphone systems, email, or other electronic means of communication. The system database can also be updated to reflect actions taken.

Where an individual breathing on the patient is also an issue for the particular patient and/or whether exposure to a patient with an infectious disease is an issue, the Computerized Monitoring System can also be programmed to determine whether or not the individual is wearing a mask. The present invention method would go through similar steps of monitoring and notification as described above for the “hand washing” monitoring. Though “mask” monitoring preferably would be in addition to “hand washing” monitoring, it is within the scope of the invention that the system is also programmed to monitor “mask” monitoring, without “hand washing” monitoring. Similarly, if the individual is required to be wearing gloves, similar steps can also be performed to confirm compliance or alert for non-compliance.

FIGS. 2 through 14illustrate several set up screen shots for configuring the virtual zones and alert types. InFIG. 2, the bed zone can be configured for a given or specific 3D Motion and Sound Sensor. To begin configuration, the user can hover over the 3D Motion and Sound Sensor video window with the cursor, right-click, select plugin and then select configure plug-in. A window will popup showing the 3D Motion and Sound Sensors' feed. The user selects the icon for the type of zone they wish to draw, which as a non-limiting example and illustrative purposes, can be a bed zone (SeeFIG. 3). Similar steps are taken for creating the above-mentioned virtual sink zone, where provided.

As non-limiting examples, the icons that appear on the screen for selection can include the following symbols shown inFIG. 4. In this non-limiting example, in no particular order, some of the icons include, Bed Zone, Auto Bed Zone (Select Patient), Auto Bed Zone (Auto-select), Saved Zones, and Clear All.

As seen inFIG. 5, to place a zone, the user clicks on the screen where he or she would like to start the zone. Then, the cursor is moved to the corner point for the zone and clicked again. The user continues to select additional points until the zone is drawn to the user's satisfaction. Preferably, the user clicks on the round end point of the beginning of the zone to complete the zone (SeeFIG. 5). When the zone has been completed, the zone can appear and a depth range box (i.e. square, rectangle, etc. disposed over the patient on the screen) can be provided on the screen, such as, but not limited to, in the middle of the screen or zone (seeFIG. 7), though any location on the screen is considered within the scope of the invention. As seen inFIG. 7, upon completion the zone appears and has a depth range box preferably in the middle.

As seen inFIG. 6, the user can adjust the depth range for any given zone. By preferably double clicking on the depth range box or by other conventional selection methods, an Edit Depth Window can appear. The user can enter in the depth ranges (preferably in millimeters (mm) though not considered limiting) and then the user can click the Save button or icon when done to store the entered values.

If there are any other types of zones to draw for the particular sensor, the above steps are repeated to place the next zone and the depth setting can be adjusted for each if necessary. Additionally, all zones can be cleared by clicking on or otherwise selecting the Clear All icon in the toolbar. Once all of the zones wires are configured, the user can dose the window to finish or can be provided with the option to save the zone configuration for later use.

As seen inFIG. 8, to access the main settings window, the user can click or otherwise select the Settings menu and the select Main Settings from the drop-down list. As one non-limiting alternative, the user can click on the Gear icon (¤) or other designated icon in the toolbar to access the main settings window.

As seen inFIG. 9, for one non-limiting way to configure a new Alert, the user can select the Alerts tab and then click on or otherwise select the Add button, which can result in the Configure Alert box appearing on the screen (SeeFIG. 10). As seen inFIG. 10, under the Event field, the user can then select the event from the drop down list that the user wishes to send an alert on. Though not shown, the dropdown list can include an alert for non-compliance with hand washing, non-compliance for not wearing a breathing mask, etc.

As seen inFIG. 11, once the Event type is selected, under the Action field, the user can select the Action he or she wishes to have the system perform when the selected Event is detected or determined. Once the Event and Action have been selected the OK button (SeeFIG. 12) can be selected to save the selected entries.

For certain Actions an additional field may need to be completed to finish the Action. If the field is required, it can appear below the Action dropdown (SeeFIG. 13). If no further fields are required, the Configure Alert box can display N/A (SeeFIG. 12) or just be blank. As mentioned above, once all settings are selected, the user clicks or otherwise selects the OK button, which causes the new Alert to be listed in the Alerts tab window. To edit an existing Alert, the user first clicks on or otherwise selects the Alert and then selects the Edit button (SeeFIG. 14). To delete an Alert, first highlight it and then click on the Delete button (SeeFIG. 14).

To add more Alerts, the user clicks or selects the Add button and repeats the above described steps. Once finished, the user clicks on or otherwise selects the bottom corner OK button to save and close the window.

FIG. 15illustrates a block diagram for centralized monitoring and alerting and shows the workflow for centralized monitoring and alerting regarding whether an individual takes appropriate measures to prevent the spread of HAIs based on information sent from the use of 3D Motion and Sound sensors. One or more 3D Motion and Sound sensors are installed in and/or just outside an individual's room, home, hospital room, or other place of temporary or permanent residence and connected to the computerized monitoring and communication systems as described inFIG. 1. At step F15athe video, audio and alert data from the sensor(s) can be sent to a centralized monitoring station by the computerized monitoring and communication systems where the data is aggregated. Preferably, the centralized monitoring station receives data at all times transmitted, sent or broadcasted from the sensors to allow the room and/or various individuals to be constantly monitored at the centralized station while they are in the patient's room, regardless of whether or not an individual takes appropriate measures to prevent the spread of HAIs.

At step F15b, all video, audio and alert feeds received by the centralized monitoring station can be displayed on the centralized monitoring primary display. Alternatively, multiple centralized monitoring primary displays can be utilized based on the quantity of rooms to be monitored at a given time. At step F15c, when the centralized monitoring system receives an alert from any of the computerized monitoring and communication systems indicating that an individual in any of the monitored rooms or other locations has not taken appropriate measures to prevent the spread of HAIs, the video, audio and alert information can be displayed on the Centralized Monitoring Alert Display for the specific patient's room. Should the centralized monitoring station receive alerts from more than one of the computerized monitoring and communication systems indicating that an individual in a monitored room or location has not taken appropriate measures to prevent the spread of HAIs, the centralized monitoring alert display will display the video, audio and alerting information from all such instances at the same time. If no alert is received by the centralized monitoring station, preferably nothing is displayed on the Centralized Monitoring Alert Display. At step F15d, an electronic record of any alerts received by the Centralized Monitoring Station can be stored in an electronic database, which is in communication with the Centralized Monitoring Station.

The above described system uses several components, including, but not limited to:a. One or more 3D Motion and Sound Sensors. However, it also within the scope of the invention to eliminate the sound sensor and have the functions of the invention be performed with only 3D motion sensors that are continuously on and record, capture and/or stream video;b. Computerized Monitoring System in electronic communication with the one or more 3D Motion and Sound Sensors;c. Computerized Communication System in electronic communication with the Computerized Monitoring System;d. A Centralized Monitoring Primary Display;e. A Centralized Monitoring Alert Display; and/orf. Database.

The various components can be in electrical, wired, and wireless communication with each other. Located remote is defined to mean that the centralized monitoring station, centralized monitoring primary display and/or centralized monitoring alert display is not physically located within the monitored rooms. However, the location can be on the same premises at a different location (i.e. nurse station for the premises, hospital, etc.) or a different location (i.e. monitoring station, etc.).

The automatic detection and notification or individuals who do not take appropriate steps to prevent the spread of infections will provide significant administrative and clinical benefits to caregivers and individuals alike, including, but not limited to, the following public benefits:a. Automation of preventative measure detection and notification of caregivers or other designated entities.b. Reduction in incidences of HAIs.c. Increased survival rate for individuals who are susceptible to HAIs.d. Reduction in costs for hospitalization and medical care related to HAIs.

All components of the present invention system and their locations, electronic communication methods between the system components, electronic storage mechanisms, etc. discussed above or shown in the drawings, if any, are merely by way of example and are not considered limiting and other component(s) and their locations, electronic communication methods, electronic storage mechanisms, etc. can be chosen and used and all are considered within the scope of the invention.

Unless feature(s), part(s), component(s), characteristic(s) or function(s) described in the specification or shown in the drawings for a claim element, claim step or claim term specifically appear in the claim with the claim element, claim step or claim term, then the inventor does not consider such feature(s), part(s), component(s), characteristic(s) or function(s) to be included for the claim element, claim step or claim term in the claim when and if the claim element, claim step or claim term is interpreted or construed. Similarly, with respect to any “means for” elements in the claims, the inventor considers such language to require only the minimal amount of features, components, steps, or parts from the specification to achieve the function of the “means for” language and not all of the features, components, steps or parts describe in the specification that are related to the function of the “means for” language.

While the invention has been described and disclosed in certain terms and has disclosed certain embodiments or modifications, persons skilled in the art who have acquainted themselves with the invention, will appreciate that it is not necessarily limited by such terms, nor to the specific embodiments and modification disclosed herein. Thus, a wide variety of alternatives, suggested by the teachings herein, can be practiced without departing from the spirit of the invention, and rights to such alternatives are particularly reserved and considered within the scope of the invention.