Sarasota, Gainesville Innovators Go High-Tech To Detect Clean Hands

The HyGreen Intelligent Hand Hygiene System, a tripartite defense against Healthcare Associated Infection (HAI), has been selected as a winner in the 2010 Medical Design Excellence Awards competition.

Xhale Innovations, Inc., a subsidiary of Xhale, Inc. with corporate headquarters in Gainesville, teamed up with ROBRADY of Sarasota to make this award-winning device. "Choosing ROBRADY has been one of the best decisions we've made," says Richard Allen, chief executive officer of Xhale. "They did an outstanding job of helping us with ideation, and integrated the design concepts with customer-driven ergonomics and our unique engineering requirements."

What's the big deal? Let's start with the device can help eliminate the spread of germs, which is critical in a hospital environment. According to the Centers for Disease Control, HAI is the fourth-leading disease killer behind cancer, heart disease and stroke.

The HyGreen Intelligent Hand Hygiene System uses vapor technology that alerts patients and staff about unclean hands.

"It's a real intelligent system, but it's also a non-encumbering system," says Rob Brady, CEO and design director for ROBRADY. "The hospital now has a literal way of tracking to make sure that people are abiding by CDC standards for handwashing. It's a great tool for measuring because the hospital can show the data, and the insurance company that governs the hospital can be assured that the hospital is living up to compliance."

The medical industry is the first to see this type of device, but it has great potential for the restaurant industry and other businesses that consider cleanliness a critical component of their mission.

The MDEA is one of the most prestigious awards in the medical device industry, and this year will mark the second year that ROBRADY has won an award. A formal presentation will be made June 9 in New York City to Jeff Nichols, program manager for the HyGreen project and Steve MacFarlane, lead mechanical designer.

Writer: Nancy Vaughn
Source: Rob Brady, ROBRADY