Court Enters Judgment for Sage Products in Hand Hygiene Patent Infringement Action
CARY, IL, March 12, 2014 – Sage Products LLC (www.sageproducts.com) announced today that the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois has entered judgment against SwipeSense, Inc. (“SwipeSense”) in Sage’s lawsuit for patent infringement.
In the action, Sage alleged that SwipeSense's Hand Hygiene 2.0 compliance monitoring system and products for hand hygiene infringe upon Sage's United States Patent No. 6,392,546. As part of the judgment, SwipeSense shall not make, use, sell, offer for sale, or import hand hygiene systems that infringe the ’546 patent, including any of the three designs that SwipeSense has previously installed in hospitals between 2012 and 2013. The judgment also requires SwipeSense to pay Sage monetary damages for past infringement.
Sage has made significant investments in the development of an innovative system that dramatically improves compliance and performance of hand hygiene processes. Sage’s patented system has undergone clinical trials in several hospitals nationwide in critical care, emergency and operating room settings. These trials have resulted in published outcomes showing dramatic improvement and sustainability in both compliance and the reduction of healthcare-acquired infections. Currently, Sage is conducting a large, multi-center clinical study with two prestigious teaching hospitals to further measure and validate the impact of its patented hand hygiene system.
“Sage is focused on improving patient safety in healthcare facilities, and one of the areas where we can have the greatest impact is hand hygiene. Our patented system is proven to monitor and help modify hand hygiene behavior," stated Jim Layer, Vice President of Product Development, Sage Products. "We filed this action to aggressively defend our substantial patent portfolio and we are pleased with the outcome of the case."
For more information, please contact:
Sage Products
Mike Nygren
(815) 455-4700
About Sage Products LLC
Since 1971, Sage Products has developed disposable healthcare products trusted by leading healthcare facilities worldwide. The company has a core belief in prevention—that simple, evidence-based, interventions lead to extraordinary outcomes. Sage is pioneering Interventional Patient Hygiene (IPH) with industry-leading brands including Q-Care® Oral Suctioning Systems, 2% Chlorhexidine Gluconate Cloths for Patient Preoperative Skin Preparation, Comfort Bath® Washcloths, Comfort Shield® Barrier Cream Cloths, Prevalon® Pressure-Relieving Heel Protectors, Prevalon® Turn and Position Systems, and Prevalon® Seated Positioning System. The company's goal is to help improve patient safety by preventing skin breakdown, healthcare-associated pneumonias, surgical site infections and other adverse events.