Hygienic Echo


Helping Each Other Save Lives

Mission Statement

Hand hygiene is the most important factor in preventing infections acquired in hospitals and other congregate living settings. Our mission is to reduce health care acquired infections and reduce both deaths and costs. We do this by providing intelligent technology that is developed in collaboration with healthcare providers to help them reduce risk to themselves and their patients.

Hygienic Echo's Buddy Badge system is an innovative and informed approach that can significantly reduce the incidence of Hospital- Acquired Infection (HAI) by doubling hand hygiene.

Background

The Buddy Badge System™ is both a technological innovation and a social innovation. Physically, the Buddy Badge is comprised of wearable badges, infrared zone markers, dispenser counters, and charging stations. The Buddy Badge discreetly prompts health care workers to perform hand hygiene when entering or leaving a patient room if they have not already done so. The Buddy Badge is focused on being a “buddy” to health care professionals. That means we are focused on solving problems for the staff as well as the hospital!

Buddy Badge System™ is based on more than seventeen years of scientific research and iterative clinical testing. It is designed to work with healthcare staff workflows and requires no IT changes or building modifications to install and use. Buddy Badge system™ has been tested at five Toronto Rehab care units with results reported in 3 recently published peer-reviewed journal papers covering over 459,000 hand hygiene opportunities.