SafeEntry+

What it does

SafeEntry+ is a touchless hand hygiene and access control system that reduces infection risks in healthcare settings by ensuring only sanitised individuals can enter. It includes a real-time monitoring system to track usage and improve hygiene compliance.

Your inspiration

During the COVID-19 pandemic, it was clear that poor hand hygiene and uncontrolled access to healthcare areas significantly increased the risk of infection, especially in inpatient wards. I noticed that many facilities relied on manual sanitisation and lacked systems to enforce compliance. This inspired me to develop a solution that ensures individuals sanitise their hands before entering high-risk clinical areas. The idea for SafeEntry+ came from observing real challenges in healthcare settings, where hand hygiene is essential but often overlooked, and combining automation with real-time monitoring and data tracking to bridge that gap.

How it works

SafeEntry+ uses an ultrasonic sensor to detect hands and a camera to detect faces, dispensing hand sanitiser only when both are detected. Once sanitised, a sliding door opens using a rack and pinion mechanism. Two infrared sensors verify that only one person enters; if multiple people enter at once, a buzzer sounds, reminder audio plays and an email alert is sent to staff. The alert stops automatically once the bypassed person exits. An LCD displays the current and maximum number of visitors and if full, the system blocks sanitisation and plays a reminder message. Excessive sanitiser usage activates an LED and sends an email to request a refill, which can be reset by pressing a push button. An emergency override button allows the door to remain open until manually reset. All events are automatically logged and analysed using Excel PivotTables, allowing real-time monitoring of usage trends, peak usage times, refill delays and staff response to hygiene breaches.

Design process

The design process began after identifying poor hand hygiene enforcement and uncontrolled access in inpatient wards, a problem discovered while reading research articles on infection control. I conducted further research into the required functions and mechanisms and explored existing solutions through literature review. Conceptual designs were created and evaluated using a Pugh matrix and the most suitable design was selected. Then, CAD drawings were developed, and to reduce the cost of 3D printing, the prototype was split into smaller parts for manual assembly. I designed and tested the circuit diagrams independently to ensure that all functions and mechanisms worked as intended. Once verified, firmware and software development began while waiting for 3D-printed components. After receiving all parts, I performed trial runs and troubleshooting to refine the system. Final soldering and assembly followed successful testing. The system includes an ultrasonic sensor for hand detection and a camera for face verification, along with IR sensors, buzzer, LED, LCD, and email alerts. All system data is logged and analysed using Excel PivotTables. SafeEntry+ is now a fully functional prototype, ready for deployment.

How it is different

SafeEntry+ stands out from typical hand sanitization systems by combining access control, hygiene enforcement and real-time monitoring in a fully automated solution. Unlike standard dispensers that can be easily bypassed, SafeEntry+ uses both hand and face detection to verify users before dispensing sanitiser and unlocking the door. Dual infrared sensors ensure only one person enters at a time with immediate alerts sent to staff in case of tailgating. Most existing systems cannot guarantee that entry is permitted only after proper hand sanitisation, leading to a poor hand hygiene compliance. SafeEntry+ addresses this gap by enforcing hand hygiene before access is granted. It also tracks sanitiser usage and visitor flow, generating real-time insights using Excel PivotTables. Most systems lack this level of integration, intelligent alerting and data-driven monitoring, making SafeEntry+ a more secure and responsive solution for healthcare settings.

Future plans

The next step for SafeEntry+ is to replace infrared sensors with a machine vision model to improve accuracy in detecting people entering or exiting, thus can also remove the need for the PIR sensor. This will allow the system to better handle complex scenarios like multiple individuals near the door. The current sliding frame prototype will also be upgraded to a full-sized automated door to simulate real healthcare conditions. Future plans include optimising the hardware layout, improving detection speed and performing extended testing in clinical environments.

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