Two startups made inroads this month in the hand hygiene market with devices that aim to make it more convenient for healthcare workers to remain compliant with protocols.
One company, SwipeSense, recently raised $1.7 million, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing. Evanston, Ill.-based SwipeSense aims to provide hospital staff with portable, trackable hand sanitation devices. According to its website, the system combines point-of-care hand hygiene dispensers with real-time data and can help organizations view individual compliance, compare unit compliance and view historical trends. SwipeSense was in the final three of the Wall Street Journal Startup of the Year competition in 2013.
Another startup, New Delhi, India-based Observe Design, announced the launch of pre-ordering for Hansure, its hand hygiene device, May 5. Hansure is a wearable device that "greatly simplifies the hand hygiene process in healthcare facilities thereby empowering healthcare workers to easily adhere to the prescribed hand hygiene guidelines," according to a news release. The device includes a sensing technology that notifies workers when they need to sanitize their hands in accordance to World Health Organization guidelines.