Sensor-Based Disinfection System for Hospital Room Hot Spot Mapping
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Solution Overview
Problem
Hospital rooms and similar environments face challenges in ensuring thorough and efficient disinfection due to short turn-around times and lack of knowledge about which surfaces and objects were used, leading to potential missed contaminated areas.
Innovation Solution
A sensor-based disinfection system that collects activity data in a room, generates a contamination map highlighting 'hot spots' for cleaning, and provides real-time feedback as cleaning progresses, using sensors like infrared, depth-sensing cameras, and ultraviolet sensors, and output devices such as augmented reality systems or mobile computing devices.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If cleaning staff clean all parts of the room thoroughly, then disinfection completeness is improved, but cleaning time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The cleaning task is segmented into priority zones based on contamination risk. Sensors divide the room into high-priority areas (frequently touched surfaces) and low-priority areas, allowing cleaning staff to focus efforts where needed most rather than treating all surfaces equally.
Solution Approach 2:
Activity monitoring occurs before cleaning to identify contamination hotspots. The system performs preliminary detection of which surfaces were actually used during patient occupancy, enabling cleaning staff to prepare targeted cleaning plans in advance rather than cleaning blindly.
2Reliability
If cleaning staff clean all parts of the room, then pathogen elimination is improved, but productivity decreases
Solution Approach 1:
Cleaning intensity is adjusted locally based on contamination risk. High-touch surfaces identified by sensors receive intensive cleaning with longer contact times and repeated applications, while low-touch surfaces receive minimal cleaning, optimizing pathogen elimination efficiency across different room zones.
Solution Approach 2:
The system provides real-time feedback to cleaning staff through mobile devices, showing which areas require attention and tracking cleaning progress. This feedback loop ensures thorough disinfection of critical areas while preventing waste of time on already-clean or low-risk surfaces.
3Device complexity
If cleaning staff clean without activity information, then equipment simplicity is maintained, but cleaning precision deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
Sensors act as intermediaries between patient activity and cleaning decisions. Rather than requiring complex direct observation, the sensor network captures movement data and translates it into actionable cleaning priorities, providing precise contamination information through relatively simple technological means.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This system aids in prioritizing high-priority areas for cleaning, reduces pathogen spread, and increases disinfection efficiency by providing real-time tracking and monitoring of cleaning progress, ensuring thorough disinfection of high-touch areas.
Implementation Method 1
The one or more sensors may include at least one of an infrared sensor, a depth-sensing camera, a laser scanner, a three dimensional motion sensor, a two dimensional motion sensors, an ultraviolet sensor, a thermal imager, and a time-of-flight depth sensor
Implementation Method 2
The one or more sensors may include at least one of an infrared sensor, a depth-sensing camera, a laser scanner, a three dimensional motion sensor, a two dimensional motion sensors, an ultraviolet sensor, a thermal imager, and a time-of-flight depth sensor
Data Source
AI summary
Various implementations disclosed herein include a method for aiding disinfection of a room. The method may include collecting, by one or more sensors in a disinfection system, activity data in the room. A computing device or output device may identify one or more hot spots from the activity data, in which the one or more hot spots indicate areas in the room for cleaning, and generate a contamination map containing the one or more hot spots. The output device may output the contamination map to an output device for viewing by a user.