Design, testing and redevelopment of a contact-free door system to reduce high hospital acquired infections among health workers from door surfaces.

Abstract

Hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) among health workers usually result in their morbidity and mortality. Handwashing and use of manual and automatic hand sanitizing have been the most common measures put in place to reduce such infections however these measures have their own shortcomings such as contamination of the sanitizer bottle and inadequate handwashing facilities and long procedure of washing hands. To mitigate this issue, the contact-free door system has been developed to reduce contact with hospital doors and in turn reducing the risk of acquiring such infections. The contact-free door system allows access into and out of a hospital ward only after the health worker has sanitized. A prototype was developed and was tested to determine whether it was functional.

The tests performed on the prototype were the temperature test, sensor test, durability test and electromagnetic compatibility test. The results showed a close resemblance to the expected outcome with significant deviations in some cases such as in the temperature test. The results as well as comments from the supervisors showed the need for redesign of the prototype. During the redesign process, a number of factors such as the criteria for success, the problem definition were considered. These prompted the use of specific component in the development of the new prototype to make it more feasible and overcome the shortcomings of the first prototype.