Apparatus and method for minimizing direct and indirect cross-contamination of pathogens between personnel within a workplace

Abstract

An apparatus and method of minimizing pathogen cross-contamination and enhancing infection mitigation at a workplace includes placing tags at selected locations, requiring at least some workplace personnel to carry mobile devices, and logging interactions between the mobile devices and tags as tapping events. Tags can be powered or unpowered. Tapping can include RF or Bluetooth communication, and/or indicia scanning. Tapping events can be wirelessly directed to a server by the tags and/or mobile devices. The logged tapping can be used to identify high risk locations, record user movements, monitor user compliance with assigned schedules and locations, and monitor compliance with specified sanitation schedules. During mitigation of an infection event, the logged tapping can be used to identify persons at high risk of direct cross-contamination due to proximity to an infected person and/or surface-mitigated cross-contamination due to occupation of a location shortly after occupation thereof by the infected person.

I claim: 
     
         1 . A method of reducing transmission of an infectious disease, comprising:
 locating a plurality of tags at selected tagged locations within a monitored building area;   selecting at least one person designated to work in the monitored building area;   causing the at least one person to maintain a mobile device in the person's possession while the person is in the monitored building area, said mobile device being configured to interact with each of the tags during a tapping event when the mobile device is proximal to the tag;   at least one of the mobile devices and the tags being configured to provide tapping information regarding said tapping events to a server;   analyzing the tapping information; and   in response to the analyzing, taking an action that at least one of:
 reduces a risk of cross contamination of the infectious disease in the monitored building area by modifying at least one activity of the at least one person while the at least one person is in the monitored building area; and 
 enhances an efficacy of a response to a transmission of the infectious disease in the monitored building area by identifying at least one person who is at an enhanced risk of infection by the infectious disease. 
   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the monitored building area is a workplace. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one person comprises a plurality of people, each maintaining a mobile device while in the monitored building area. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the tags are chosen from a group consisting of powered devices, unpowered devices, devices configured to communicate via Bluetooth communication, devices configured to communicate by near field communication, and optically scannable indicia. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the tapping information includes information pertaining to a duration of time during which the mobile device was proximal to the tag. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein each mobile device is configured to accept input information provided by the person possessing the mobile device, and to include said input information with the tapping information. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein the input information includes information relevant to sanitation of the location where the tag is located. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein modifying the at least one activity of the at least one person includes designating one of the tagged location as being at elevated risk if, according to the tapping information:
 the tagged location has not been sanitized since it was most recently tapped; and   insufficient time has elapsed since the tagged location was most recently tapped to ensure that a specified percentage of any pathogens of the infectious disease deposited at the tagged location have become non-infectious.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein modifying the at least one activity of the at least one person includes causing the person to adhere to sanitization requirements that are assigned to the person, if the analysis of the tapping information indicates non-compliance therewith. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein modifying the at least one activity of the at least one person includes instructing the person to consistently use a designated facility from among a plurality of facilities that are within the monitored building area. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the designated facility is selected from among the plurality of facilities according to an analysis of the tapping information. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the at least one person comprises a plurality of people, each of said people maintaining one of the mobile devices while in the monitored building area, and the method further comprises dividing the plurality of people into a plurality of sub-groups, and assigning the plurality of facilities that are within the monitored building area to the subgroups, such that use of the same one of the facilities by members of more than one of the subgroups is minimized or eliminated. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the plurality of facilities includes facilities that are located in a common area. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein enhancing an efficacy of a response to the transmission of the infectious disease includes, upon determining that a first person of the plurality of people is infected with the infectious disease, analyzing the tapping information to identify a second person of the plurality of people who is at heightened risk of infection by the first person, and applying at least one mitigating action to the second person. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the at least one mitigating action includes applying a test to the second person to determine if the second person has become infected by the infectious disease. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein identifying the second person includes determining that the first and second persons occupied the same or proximal locations within the monitored building area at substantially the same time. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein identifying the second person further includes determining a pattern of air currents proximal to the location or locations within the monitored building area that were occupied by the first and second persons at substantially the same time. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one person designated to work in the monitored building area is at least one sanitation staff worker and/or a plurality of office workers. 
     
     
         19 . A method of reducing transmission of an infectious disease at a monitored building area, comprising:
 locating a plurality of tags at selected tagged locations within the monitored building area;   providing all workers who wish to access the monitored building area with a mobile device while the person is in the monitored building area, said mobile device being configured to interact with each of the tags when the mobile device is proximal to the tag, at least one of the mobile devices and the tags being configured to provide information regarding any such interaction to a server;   analyzing the interactions; and   in response to the analyzing, taking an action that at least one of:
 reduces a risk of cross contamination of the infectious disease in the monitored building area by modifying at least one activity of the at least one of said workers while the at least one worker is in the monitored building area; and 
 enhances an efficacy of a response to a transmission of the infectious disease in the monitored building area by identifying at least one of said workers who is at an enhanced risk of infection by the infectious disease. 
   
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein said identifying at least one of said workers who is at an enhanced risk of infection includes determining that that worker occupied a location that was previously occupied by another person at a time when a heightened risk existed of infectious disease spread from the another person.