Nanosonics, an Australia-headquartered medical technology company in the infection control space, has launched a digital product with the aim of helping infection preventionists and quality managers improve and standardise infection control compliance.

The Nanosonics AuditPro's first application will be in the ultrasound market, with the product being expected to rollout in the US this month.

WHAT IT DOES

The Nanosonics AuditPro workflow compliance management solution comprises a mobile scanning device and an app for ultrasound users, along with a browser-based app. According to a press release from the company, the mobile app can be used at the ultrasound console so that users can access best practice infection control education as part of the clinical workflow, and standardise infection control practices to meet accreditation requirements.

The company claims that the software interrogates the workflow data set to provide real-time intelligence on procedure classification and disinfection records. They went on to explain that the browser-based app shows this information through management dashboards and survey-ready reports for individual departments. Data can also be aggregated for visibility across facilities and larger multi-center organisations.

WHY IT MATTERS

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimate that hospitals are responsible for 1.7 million Healthcare Associated Infections (HAIs) resulting in 99,000 associated deaths, more annually than those who die from car accidents in the US.

According to an alert from The Joint Commission, 74% of all "immediate threats to life" were from improperly sterilised or high-level disinfected equipment. 

Nanosonics states in the release that as a reusable medical device, ultrasound probes need to be appropriately disinfected in accordance with the relevant standards to reduce the risk of patient cross-contamination. These standards require clinicians to be able to determine if a probe needs to be Low Level Disinfected, High Level Disinfected, or sterilised, based on the procedure the probe will be used for.

THE LARGER TREND

In 2011, GE Healthcare published a whitepaper highlighting the crucial role that IT plays in preventing HAIs. The report stated that emerging technologies offer hope to keep HAI rates low over the long-term.

Much of the innovation that sees IT being leveraged for infection control compliance has centred on hand hygiene. One of the early players in this space in the US is Proventix Systems, which partnered with Synapse Wireless in 2010 to combine two of their existing technologies into a wireless hand hygiene compliance and information delivery system for medical personnel.

Other players include Toronto-based RL Solutions whose platform enables real-time monitoring and audits of hand hygiene practices via tablet or smartphone, and US-based TeleTracking Technologies whose technology is used to monitor when and where patients and staff wash their hands, as well as track equipment in need of cleaning and determine which staff members are in contact with which patients.

ON THE RECORD

"We looked to implement Nanosonics AuditPro to automate the linking of reprocessing of ultrasound probes to patient procedures," said Lindsay Turner, lead sonographer at Hutchinson Regional Medical Center.

"However, by far the most beneficial part has been the workflow education built into the system to challenge the technologist, nurse, or sonographer with ‘Have you properly cleaned this probe before you use it in the procedure?’ If they haven’t, the system guides them on learning the right decision. This grows the hospital in our aim of 100% compliance and ensures we are a high-reliability organisation making sure our patients are always protected."