Objectives: Hand hygiene has long been promoted as the most effective way to prevent the transmission of infection. However, due to low compliance and low quality of hand hygiene reported in previous studies, constant monitoring of hand hygiene compliance and quality among healthcare workers is crucial. This study investigated the feasibility of using a thermal camera with an RGB camera to detect hand coverage of alcohol-based formulation, thereby monitoring the quality of hand rubbing. Methods: In total, 32 participants were recruited to participate in this study. Participants were required to perform four types of hand rubbing to achieve different coverage of the alcohol-based formulation. After each task, participants' hands were photographed under a thermal camera and an RGB camera, while an ultraviolet (UV) test was used to provide the ground truth of hand coverage of alcohol-based formulation. U-Net was used to segment areas exposed to alcohol-based formulation from thermal images, and system performance was evaluated by comparing differences in coverage between thermal images and UV images in terms of accuracy and Dice coefficient. Results: This system found promising results in terms of accuracy (93.5%) and Dice coefficient (87.1%) when observations took place 10 s after hand rubbing. At 60 s after hand rubbing, accuracy and Dice coefficient were 92.4% and 85.7%. Conclusions: Thermal imaging has potential for accurate, constant and systematic monitoring of the quality of hand hygiene. ... Read more

Humans have an ingenious ability to shape the environment we live in.Twenty thousand years ago, this started with simple shelters and has now advanced to manipulation on a planetary scale. Human abilities are tightly linked to the tools and technologies we have at hand. Nearly nothing that surrounds us in a modern world can be created without sophisticated tools. The clothes we wear, the vehicles we use, the buildings we live and work in, and communication we rely on are only feasible due to tools and technologies humans have invented. Human evolution is inevitably linked to the tools we use. Our ability to survive and procreate goes togetherwith technological advances. Early on, tools made survival easier and freed time for
humans to advance their knowledge and create even better tools. Evolution and tool use are linked. Tools and technologies have long complemented and extended our physical abilities: from pre-historic spearheads to steam-propelled ploughs and high-tech prosthetics. We have come a long way. Human abilities have increased through technology; we can talk to people on the other side of the world, travel at the speed of sound, and lift loads that are many times our own weight. This past wave ofinnovation was mainly focused on our ability to act in and manipulate the physical world. With more recent technological advancements, however, the extension of our perceptual and cognitive qualities has increasingly taken shape. ... Read more