Monday, April 11, 2011

RFID for tracking surgical tools


SHENZHEN, CHINA, APRIL 5, 2011 - NXP Semiconductors is enabling ClearCount Medical Solutions to further ensure patient health and safety with its NXP Radio-frequency identification (RFID) solutions.

ClearCount has selected RFID solutions from NXP Semiconductors, a specialist in multi-applications, to enable its SmartSponge® System.

ClearCount's SmartSponge system can improve patient safety systems by accurately detecting, and accounting for, surgical sponges placed in a patient's body during surgery.

If left inside a human body, discarded sponges can cause serious post operation complications and thus it is imperative to have safety measures in place.

This safety issue is taken care of with the SmartSponge System, which comprises RFID-enabled surgical sponges and an embedded RFID reader within a user-friendly automated software accounting system.

Dramatically improved accuracy

"Surgical sponges could be counted manually or with the assistance of a barcode reader, but neither of these methods is able to identify any blood-soaked sponges that are hidden in the body," said Victor Vega, RFID marketing director, NXP Semiconductors. "NXP's RFID-based system enhances accountability with a unique read before, during and after the surgery, which dramatically improves accuracy as well as patient safety."

SmartSponge also includes SmartWand to detect sponges accidently retained within the body and a smart disposal system to account for discarded sponges.

Focused on preventing medical errors, ClearCount Medical Solutions offers an extendable RFID-based platform that provides a comprehensive solution to improve efficiency while enhancing patient safety.

"Our SmartWand-DTX and SmartSponge System, the first Food and Drug Administration-cleared RFID-based platform for the operating room, can help save patients from serious complications that can arise when surgical sponges are left behind," said David Palmer, CEO of ClearCount. "Our solutions also provide renewed confidence - for doctors, hospitals and insurance agencies - that they are providing the highest level of patient safety."

Pricing for RFID labels

https://www.digikey.my/product-detail/en/avery-dennison-rfid/700067/1543-1052-ND/5135122