CHICAGO – Hill-Rom and General Electric have settled a patent infringement lawsuit involving Hill-Rom’s hand hygiene technology.
The lawsuit was filed in May when the Batesville-based company accused GE of marketing the product that was developed 15 years ago.
Hill-Rom has now agreed to license its hand hygiene patents to GE, and GE no longer contests that Hill-Rom’s patents are valid or enforceable.
“We’re pleased to reach this settlement, which recognizes the value of the innovation at the heart of the Hill-Rom® Hand Hygiene Solution,” said Alton Shader, Senior Vice President and President North America, Hill-Rom.
“Protecting our intellectual property is a vital part of our product development process, which allows us to develop new technologies that enhance outcomes for patients and their caregivers.”
The Hill-Rom Hand Hygiene Compliance Solution system uses badge locating technology that offers automatic, continuous monitoring of hand-hygiene station use, to help address health care-acquired infections associated with over 75,000 deaths a year in the United States alone.
Alerts are sent to caregivers to gently remind them of missed hand-hygiene opportunities. Once installed, the system can automate the clinical environment to drive productivity and safety, and benefit the patient environment. The system can also be leveraged beyond hygiene monitoring for other applications, including staff locating, asset tracking, environmental monitoring and other process automation applications.
