FIELD OF INVENTION:
The invention pertains to the field of mechanical devices for automation of hand cleaning
and hygiene, to aid compliance, and provide surveillance.
BACKGROUND OF INVENTION:
Hand hygiene is the most overlooked phenomenon in all industries including healthcare, food and hospitality. The main reasons are (1) unawareness of low compliance rates - to increase awareness of low hand hygiene compliance rates, the authorities are required to measure the current compliance rates and then regularly sharing with the current compliance rates with staff. This leads the staff to remain engaged and keeps them constantly aware of the issue (2) voluntary nature of the process- since hand hygiene is voluntary in nature unless forced many workers tend to miss or ignore the process (3) rise in hand hygiene expenditure due to overuse- the bottle dispensers dispense a dollop of the hand rub. The user usually is not able to imagine whether this volume is enough to cover his/her hand, thus pumps multiple times. An increase in one dollop (around 2.5 ml) may increase the cost of hand hygiene upto 33%. Cost is extremely concern for any industry especially in India and thus leads to cost cutting in providing soap/hand rub to the staff
(4) lack of surveillance- since hand hygiene is most voluntary in nature and there is no surveillance involved in it and thus, management cannot pinpoint the non-compliant staff
(5) no data generated on hand hygiene- most of the data generated on hand-hygiene programme would be based on survey or training based. During these occasions the users remain compliant. It is on regular times, the data obtained is more insightful. Automation in data generation also helps the institutions like hospitals to pitch for certifications, research publications and hospital boards.

The fundamental principle on which hospitals work is not further harm the sick. However, the statistics suggests other way around. As per WHO report for every 100 patients, 7 in developed country and 10 in developing country acquire infection from hospitals, termed as Healthcare Associated Infection (HAI) This number is as high as 88.9% patients in ICU in our country (1). Globally, HAI has emerged as a biggest patient safety concern and therefore, many remedial measures have been incorporated in hospital manuals along with various new regulations which have significantly reduced the incidence of HAI. However, in India, we have been unsuccessful in bringing down the cases of HAI largely due to challenges like (a) 80% of hospitals are private in nature with no stringent regulation, (b) No surveillance mechanism or epidemiological data on HAI, (c) Poor health worker: patient ratio (for paramedics 1:100 and for doctors 1:900) (d) Education, awareness and cost among others. It is a well-established fact that the major contributor in HAI is hand hygiene and any improvement in this aspect can lead to reduction in HAI as high as 85%. Consequently, incorporation of hand hygiene protocol in routine hospital operations can significantly reduce HAI and ergo, better patient care.
The three fundamental pillars of hand hygiene program are adherence, surveillance, and compliance. The invention is proposed to technological solution to hospitals and other industries that requires hand-hygiene incorporating all these three pillars. The fundamental philosophy behind this product is minimum manual intervention and effort, maximum automation and hygiene. The product will also facilitate computerized surveillance and generation of compliance data in line with guidelines followed by other develooed countries (i.e.. USA and EurooeY This will result in better regulation and

implementation of hand hygiene program in our country. The proposed invention provides integrated hand hygiene solution for various industrial applications having all three prerequisites characteristic of an ideal hand hygiene solution namely 1) effective hand cleaning and disinfection 2) monitoring or surveillance and 3) ensuring compliance.
OBJECT OF THE INVENTION:
It is the object of this invention to provide all-in-one hand-hygiene device for industries for automation of hand cleaning and disinfection (commonly termed as hand hygiene) and to increase compliance, provide surveillance and generate data on hand hygiene.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION:
The device includes a (a) main body in which the user places his/her hands in the center (b) the back panel to hold the electronics (c) side or back panels where cleanser and disinfectant are held.
Here cleanser is defined as any form of matter that removes dirt, organic matter, inorganic mater and the like from the hands and for simplicity in the text the act is named as cleansing. Here hand hygiene/antimicrobial solution is defined as any liquid that kills or remove microbes or decrease the microbial load from the hands including disinfectant, antiseptic, sanitizer and the like) and for simplicity in the text the act is termed as disinfection.
In one of the embodiments, the station can be designed for applications that require both hand cleansing followed by hand disinfection. In a typical cycle, first the cleanser is

dispensed to remove the dirt/grease from the hands followed by hand drying by a blower/dryer followed by disinfectant dispense to kill the microbes.
Although the invention herein has been described with reference to particular embodiments, it is to be understood that these embodiments are merely illustrative of the principles and applications of the present invention. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the method and device of the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Thus, it is intended that the present invention include modifications and variations that are within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS:
The novel features and characteristic of the disclosure are set forth in the appended
claims. The embodiments of the disclosure itself, however, as well as a preferred mode
of use, further objectives and advantages thereof, will best be understood by reference to
the following detailed description of an illustrative embodiment when read in conjunction
with the accompanying drawings.
It is to be expressly understood, however, that each of the figures is provided for the
purpose of illustration and description only and is not intended as a definition of the
limits of the present disclosure.
Fig. 1 full view of the device, the top and the back panel
Fig. 2 exploded view of the device with the components.
Fig. 3 Schematic of enlarged side view of the middle curve area disclosed in the present

invention.
Fig. 4 Flow chart depicting the function of the device.
Fig. 5 Block diagram for the device.
Fig. 6 Schematic view of the hand hygiene surveillance data received by the management
system.
DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION:
The foregoing has broadly outlined the features and technical advantages of the present disclosure in order that the detailed description of the disclosure that follows may be better understood. Additional features and advantages of the disclosure will be described herein after which form the subject of the claims of the disclosure. It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the conception and specific aspect disclosed may be readily utilized as a basis for modifying or designing other structures for carrying out the same purposes of the present disclosure. It should also be realized by those skilled in the art that such equivalent constructions do not depart from the spirit and scope of the disclosure as set forth in the appended claims. The novel features which are believed to be characteristic of the disclosure, both as to its organization and method of operation, together with further objects and advantages will be better understood from the following description when considered in connection with the accompanying figures.
The invention provides a device, which provides for complete hand hygiene solution. The device has three components hand cleaning, disinfection and hand drying, surveillance/ monitoring and compliance adhering in a completely automated system. The said device

of the invention is fully automated which takes care of all three aspect of hand hygiene to provide holistic hand hygiene solution.
The said device of the invention is equally effective in maintaining highest level of hand hygiene starting from hospitals to food and drug industries.
The said device of the invention completely eliminates dependency of hand hygiene on level of awareness (users), level of contamination on hand (microbial, organics and non-organics) and lax attitude.
The said device of the invention significantly reduces the cost of hand hygiene by controlling overuse or abuse of cleanser or hand hygiene/anti-microbial solution. It also significantly reduces the use of water otherwise used for hand washing.
The said invention can be made in different shape and size as per the requirement and can be made up of plastic, acrylic or metal. It can be placed on a fixed table or can be wall mounted.
The said invention completes the hand hygiene in three distinct stages namely 1) spraying of cleanser (water, soap and water, dry soap or any specialized solution) or dry cleanser formulation 2) hand drying by hot or cold air blown by fan or blower 3) spraying of disinfectant solution 4) drying via UV light passed air blow. Time interval for each stage is optimized for effective hand hygiene.

The device to perform the automation of hand-hygiene comprises;
• Cleansing and disinfection unit: comprising reservoirs for cleansers[001 A] and
hand hygiene/anti-microbial solution or disinfectant [001B] where there is a provision in
the device for placement of the reservoirs [032] and a provision in back panel for manual
refilling via opening the capping [035]. The reservoirs can be in form of replaceable
cassette or refillable configured with IOT to live tracking the level of cleansers and hand
hygiene/ anti-microbial solutions. The reservoir can be integrated with larger tank and a
mechanism to automatically refill when the level goes below a threshold volume. Further,
the level in reservoir can be monitored onsite or remotely with the help of sensors [009]
like level sensor or indicator, number of dispense counter and visual monitoring from
viewing window. The cleanser is selected from water, soap and water, dry soap, foam or
any ideal hand washing solution to remove dirt, grease, oil, organics and in organics and
the like and in case of waterless hand washing dry soap or washing gel is used. Specialty
solutions containing surfactants and water can also be used. The hand
hygiene/antimicrobial solution is selected from any liquid that can kill the microbes,
fungi and viruses or reduce the load. This can be chosen from disinfectants, sanitizers and
antiseptics.
• Cleanser/ disinfectant dispensing unit: comprising pumps [002] to dispense pre¬
determined volume from the reservoirs, strategically placed nozzles [004], tray [023]
conjoined to main unit to collect excess liquid via a hole [027]. The nozzle(s) of the
cleanser/disinfectant unit spray a fine mist of the cleanser/disinfectant via respective
nozzles and are placed at strategic location in a way that predetermined volume of the

spray covers the hands completely. The optimized nozzles placement, dispensed volume of the disinfectant and droplet size ensure hand hygiene without manual distribution of the cleanser by means of rubbing and provides hand-hygiene even in the nooks of the inter digital folds. The type of nozzle(s) is selected from one of full cone, half cone, hollow cone to spray at varying angles and varying droplet size. The pump for the disinfectant/sanitizer dispensing unit is selected from one of submersible, peristaltic, centrifugal or diaphragm pump that dispense 1 -5 ml of the cleanser/disinfectant. The pump is configured with IOT to alert the manufacturer or facility manger upon the failure of the pump.
• Controller (electronic user identification system and recorder): The controller consists of electronic identification system [Oil] for identification of the user for the purpose of registration comprises, short range or long range ultra-high Frequency (UHF) RFK) reader or biometric identification which includes finger print scanner, hand geometry scanner, iris scanner and face ID/recognition.
• Audio-visual indicator with door interlocking system: comprises an audio-visual alarm or indicator [010], a display unit [005] and provision for placing the same in the device which is integrated with door interlocking system through communication module. The display unit is selected from LCD, LED, OLED, AMOLED or Plasma. The display can be used for regulatory-compliance or for advertisements and to guide the user throughout the course of the sanitization process.

• Recording and transmission: Comprises internal storage for recording login data (can be interpreted as hand hygiene compliance Fig. 6), electronic circuit board to execute program, connected to pumps, sensors, fans, display, with communication modules like Wi-Fi module, Bluetooth module, GSM module, IOT module or ethernet module for transferring data in real time to the main server.
• Sensors : Various sensors selected from group comprising ultrasonic sensor, proximity sensor, IR sensor, motion sensor, iris sensor, face recognition, fingerprint recognition, level sensor, computer vision -visual sensor and other biometric sensors are used to facilitate the process of the automation like for identification, monitoring, to check the presence of hands in the system , activation and to check the level of cleanser and disinfectant in the reservoirs.
• High speed fan or air blower: For drying in-between step, varying fan/blower [003] speed can alter the duration of drying.
• Integrated camera and focus light: The main body is provided with focus light [013] for observing while performing the hygiene process and a camera [012] integrated to generate live feed with screen placed on the station to encourage the user.
• UV lamp for sterilization of the air used for during drying.
• HEPA filter-for passing air via the filter used for air dryer.
As shown in Fig.l displays the tank for the cleanser [001 A] and disinfectant [001B]

reservoirs device held in a holding area [032] for placement of the reservoirs along with back [020 ], sides [025] and bottom support [021] shown in Fig. 3. Fig. 3 also shows a provision in form of capping in back panel for manual refilling [035] that can be accessed via a flip open plate [019]. Fig.l also shows the pump [002] from which the cleanser and disinfectant is pumped to dispense via the nozzle spray [004]. High speed fan [003] displays the high - speed fan which dries the cleanser and disinfectant in the intermediate steps. The power on-off switch is [006] and the LCD display [005] which shows the information towards hand hygiene or guides the user at each step is shown in Fig. 1, 2 & 3, whereas the controller [007], and relay board [008] are held by [029] shown in Fig 3 which holds the various modules for monitoring/surveillance and compliance of the users. The sensors used for activation, monitoring, to check the presence of hands in the system are shown as [009]. As shown in Fig. 2 [010] is an audio-visual indicator and [011] the area for electronic user identification. The camera [012] is placed in the enclosure [022] along with the nozzle spray [004] along with light [013] for focusing on the hand hygiene steps followed by the user. As shown in Fig 3, the base plate and back cover plate for holding and protecting the assembly within [014 and 015] and [034] is the foot protector on which the machine rests. The center curve sheet [016] as shown in Fig 3 and [017] is top back curve single piece along with the top plate [018] to protect the electronics and other components. Fig. 3 also shows the tray [023] for collecting the waste liquid and the tray constrains [024] to align the tray each time on open and close with a pull out as [028]. The excess liquid is collected in the tray [023] via the hole [027]. The fan vents allow easy air circulation [030] and the back and side vents are designed in a form that also allows branding [033]. The bottom curve panel is shown as [031] in Fig.

2. The station can be mounted on to a wall or any stationery object via a support [036] for mounting as shown Fig.l. Fig.4 displays the flow chart depicting the function of the device that can be used while building the device and the Fig. 5 shows the block diagram for the device. Fig. 6 displays the schematic view of the hand hygiene surveillance data received by the management system. The data informs that personnel who are most and least compliant. It also helps the management to know active versus inactive users.
The device can be appropriately designed by choosing the reservoirs for applications where only cleansing or disinfection or cleansing and disinfection are required to be used.
The method for automation of hand-hygiene comprising,
• identification of the presence of a user by electronic user identification system and checking for the presence of hands in the system with sensor;
• activation of the hygiene process;
• cleanser washing, by spraying the hand washing substance all over the hands, with fine misting nozzles optimized for spraying predetermined volume, sufficient to provide complete hand coverage;
• air drying by hot or cold air by high speed fan or air blower;
• disinfectant wash by spraying hand hygiene/anti-microbial solution;
• air drying via HEPA and UV light passed through air blow; wherein the duration for each cycle of drying is set based on the disinfectant used or the standard operating procedure (SOP) set by the administration , to provide optimum contact time required for
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• registration of the identified user's cycle-completion and storage of the logging data generated in system or server using Wi-fi module or IOT module; wherein the data can be further used to enable monitoring/surveillance and compliance of the users;
• checking for the presence of hands in the system with the help of a sensor, at any point in the cycle; wherein the cycle terminates without registering the entry, if the hands are not present in the system or when the hands are withdrawn before the optimized time required for effective hand hygiene and triggers audio-visual alarm which alerts the user's or his/her supervisor or colleagues in case of incomplete hand hygiene cycle and enforces the user to complete the same before switching off;
• automatic sanitization of the interior of the device after a pre-defined number of cycles.
The said device of the invention disinfects upto elbow level in operation theatres or applications where elbow level hygiene is required.
In addition to hand hygiene the said invention also provides a unique feature of surveillance and monitoring of hand hygiene compliance by staff members. Alternatively, it can also be integrated with the existing biometric attendance system.
The said device of the invention uses visual sensors, camera or any other person recognition sensor to monitor movement of an individual in given area (entry and exit form hospital ward or ICU or operation theatre), identifies users and record the entry in to appropriate databases for monitoring of user's hand hygiene discipline. For example, a

long range Ultra High Frequency (UHF) RFK) reader or camera with face recognition capability can be used for monitoring entry and exit of user in given area and thereby provides comparative assessment of number of visit v/s number of hand hygiene process followed.
This surveillance feature can also be used as attendance monitor. The data logging generated in to the machine is directly sent to the server or stored into the system for future analysis. The transmitted data includes details of user (number of time hand hygiene perform, number of time hand hygiene does not perform or perform incomplete and the like) the machine ID (which machine use), number of total hand hygiene cycle completed (in day, month or years), level sensor data, data login on functioning of each component with date and time stamp.
The stored data is transferred to server via LAN, Wifi, Bluetooth, GPS or any other equivalent communication technology in real time for monitoring and analysis. Stored data can be retrieved using USB or RS32 port for transferring it to another PC.
The unique electronic and information system integration in said invention also provides a strict compliance of hand hygiene in given facility.
The surveillance feature also provides detailed report on how many workers follows the required hand hygiene protocol before entering into facility and thereby management can pin-point the individual who does not comply with hand hygiene requirements.

The said device of the invention can also enforce compliance by linking opening or closing of door with hand hygiene process.
The forced compliance can be achieved using short range communications protocol like blue-tooth, where electronic door lock will be automatically open or close based on signal received from hand hygiene device placed near to it. The unlocking of door is triggered by completion of hand hygiene cycle by an individual who wants to enter in to the facility.
The entire process of surveillance and compliance of given facility can be analysed by transferring the data to central computer and using suitable software in real time.
Audio visual alarm alerts users who are entering or exiting from given area without performing hand hygiene which can further be programmed to alert the user's in case of incomplete hand hygiene cycle and enforce him/her to complete the same before alarm switched off. A provision for data login (recording) for users who does not perform hand hygiene process while entering or exiting the given area and a provision of data login (recording) for users who does not complete (incomplete) hygiene cycles give leeway for unforeseen situations.
The device/system is made tamper proof for regulatory authority to monitor hand hygiene compliance at various hospital or industries to control hospital associated infection or compliance associated with food and drug quarantine.

e claim:
The method for automation of hand-hygiene comprising,
identification of the presence of a user by controller (electronic user identification system) [Oil] and checking for the presence of hands in the system with sensor [009];
activation of the hand hygiene process;
hand cleansing by spraying the hand cleanser all over the hands, with fine misting nozzles [004] optimized for spraying predetermined volume, sufficient to provide complete hand coverage;
air drying by hot or cold air by high speed fan or air blower [003]; disinfectant wash by spraying alcohol or non-alcohol-based hand hygiene/anti¬microbial solution;
air drying via HEPA and UV light passed through air blow; wherein the duration for each cycle of drying is set based on the disinfectant used or the standard operating procedure (SOP) set by the administration, to provide optimum contact time required for complete hand hygiene;
registration of the identified user's cycle-completion and storage of the logging data [011] generated in system or server using Wi-fi module, Ethernet module, or Bluetooth module or IOT module; wherein the data can be further used to enable monitoring/surveillance and compliance of the users;
checking for the presence of hands in the system with the help of a sensor[009], at any point in the cycle; wherein the cycle terminates without registering the entry, if the hands are not present in the system or are withdrawn in between the cycle and

triggers audio-visual alarm[010] which alerts the user's in case of incomplete hand hygiene cycle and enforces the user to complete the same before switching off; automatic hand hygiene of the interior of the device after a pre-defined number of cycles.
2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein, the electronic identification system for
identification of the user for the purpose of registration comprises, short range or long
range ultra-high Frequency (UHF) RFK) reader or biometric identification which
includes finger print scanner, hand geometry scanner, Iris scanner and face
ID/recognition.
3. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the sensor used to check the presence of hands in the system comprises ultrasonic sensor, proximity sensor, IR sensor, or motion sensors including microwave, passive Infra-red, gesture detection or direct visual detection using camera.
4. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the cleanser comprises, water, soap and water, dry soap, foam or any ideal hand cleaning solution to remove dirt, grease, oil, organic and inorganic matter and the like and in case of waterless-handwashing comprises, dry soap or washing gel.
5. A device to perform the automation of hand-hygiene as claimed in claim 1 comprises; a cleansing unit [001 A];

a disinfectant dispensing unit [001B];
a controller (electronic user identification system and data recorder) [Oil];
an audio-visual indicator with door interlocking system [010];
a unit to facilitate data recording and transmission or controller [007];
sensors [009];
high speed fan or air blower [003];
integrated camera [012] and LCD display [005];
focus light [013].
6. The device as claimed in claim 5, wherein the cleansing unit comprises of reservoirs for cleanser [001 A] and hand hygiene/antimicrobial solutions [001B]
7. The device as claimed in claim 6, wherein the device provides holding area [032] for placement of the reservoirs of the cleanser [001A] and disinfectant [001B] along with back [020], sides [025] and bottom support [021] and a provision in form of capping in back panel for manual refilling [035].
8. The device as claimed in claim 5, wherein the cleanser [001 A] and disinfectant [001B] dispensing unit comprises of pumps [002] to dispense pre-determined volume from the reservoirs, strategically placed nozzles [004], tray [022] conjoined to main unit-026] to collect excess liquid via a waste collector [027].
9. The device as claimed in claim 5, wherein the nozzle(s) of the cleanser/disinfectant

dispensing unit is selected from one of full cone, half cone, hollow cone to spray at varying angles and varying droplet size.
10. The device as claimed in claim 5, wherein the pumps of the cleanser/disinfectant
i dispensing unit is selected from one of submersible, peristaltic, centrifugal or
diaphragm pump that dispenses 1-5 ml of the disinfectant/sanitizer.
11. The device as claimed in claim 5, wherein the electronic identification system used
for identification of the user for the purpose of registration comprises, short range or
) long range ultra-high Frequency (UHF) RFID reader, biometric identification which
includes finger print scanner, hand geometry scanner, iris scanner and face ID/recognition.
12. The device as claimed in claim 5, wherein the audio-visual indicator is provided for
i indicating completion/incomplete hygiene cycle. For more stringent compliance the
machine can be integrated with door interlocking system through communication module to restrict entry/exit coupled with hygiene process.
13. The device as claimed in claim 5, wherein the audio-visual indicator comprises an
) audio-visual alarm, a display unit and provision for placing the same.
14. The device as claimed in claim 13, wherein the display unit is selected from LCD,
LED, OLED, AMOLED or Plasma.

5. The device as claimed in claim 5, wherein data recording and transmission unit comprises internal storage for recording login data [Fig.6], electronic circuit board to execute program, connected to pumps, sensors, fans, display, with communication modules like Wi-Fi module, Bluetooth module, GSM module, IOT module or ethemet module for transferring data in real time to the main server .
6. The device as claimed in claim 6, wherein the sensor used for activation, monitoring, to check the presence of hands in the system and to check the level of cleanser and disinfectant solutions comprises ultrasonic sensor, proximity sensor, IR sensor, motion sensor, Iris sensor, face recognition, fingerprint recognition, level sensor, or direct visualization using camera.