Towards the Objective Evaluation of Hand Disinfection

Abstract

The failure of hand disinfection prior to surgical operations is considered to be the leading cause of nosocomial infections worldwide. It contributes to the spread of multi-resistant pathogens and is recognized having an important role in the development of post-operative complications. To reduce this cause, we developed a compact, mobile device to support surgeons with the objective evaluation of hand disinfection. The hardware consists of a metal box with matte black interior with ultra-violet lighting and a digital camera. Image processing and segmentation is performed on a regular notebook. After the hand washing procedure, the surgeons spread UV-reflective powder on the hands, showing bright under UV light only on sterile surfaces. When the surgeon insert its hands into the box, the camera placed on the top takes an image of the hand for evaluation. The software performs the segmentation and clustering automatically. First, the hand contour is determined from the intensity image, than two clusters are built using a threshold value, derived based on the average intensity of the region of interest. If the affected area is significant, the system warns the surgeon to wash their hands again. The main advantage of our device is the ability to obtain objective result on the quality of hand disinfection. It may find its best use in the clinical education and training.