Raymond Johnson of St Louis, Missouri, says that the poorly washed hands of
food service workers lead to an estimated 12.5 million cases of food borne
illnesses in the US each year. Medical workers cross-infect patients if they do
not wash between treatments. Johnson suggests such workers should wash with a
garish blue or green soap, in front of a colour video camera which digitises the
image and conducts a pixel-by-pixel analysis to work out whether soap has been
applied all over the hands (WO 98/36258). If too large a proportion remains
unwashed, the camera sounds a warning that the employee’s hands may still be
dirty—so they have to wash again.
More from New Scientist
Explore the latest news, articles and features
Technology
Test moderators use AI-generated writing to judge literacy standards
News
Technology
We should decide how AI shapes the future, not tech firms
Comment
Technology
Quantum voting could make elections more secure
News
Technology
DeepMind AI gives an extra day of warning ahead of deadly cyclones
News
Popular articles
Trending New Scientist articles