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."

8th Annual RFID World Asia is here again

http://www.terrapinn.com/exhibition/rfid-world-asia/

Prince Court Medical Center use rfid for baby tagging

The Prince Court Medical Center, located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, recently adopted a new system to heighten security measures involving newborns.

The hospital will begin placing -embedded straps and tags on infants and mothers, to ensure no abduction or misplacement occurs. The center will also tag its equipment and other assets to track.

"What was needed was a preemptive safety measure that would effectively serve as a secondary deterrent and a back-up to the hospital's existing security measures [for tracking patients and assets],” said Shrinita Yogeswaran, PCMC's IT application manager. The hospital’s previous system involved scanning barcodes or using ID numbers on labels to track individuals or assets.

The medical center is a 300-bed, six-floor, multi-speciality-care hospital, meaning the attention needed to keep all assets and patients secure is great. Thus, the efficiency and effectiveness of RFID tags serves as a perfect solution.

Other hospitals have begun adopting similiar systems. The inclusion of RFID tags or barcode software on medicine has allowed medical centers to cut down on the rising amount of counterfeit drugs in the marketplace.

Use TEKLYNX barcode labeling software to create RFID tags with ease.

Nokia Windows 7 Phone

Looks like coming 2011, Nokia will have their own Windows 7 phone.

Unitech HT680

Had a chance to test out the new units of Unitech HT680 with barcode scanning, running on Win CE before ship out to customer after charging for 16hrs on first time. Handles very nicely.

Tracking tyre using rfid

Since Malaysian logistics firm Lee Ting San (LTS) Group began trialing an RFID-based tire-management system a year ago on some of its 400 trucks, the company has found that tagged tires are better maintained and have fewer blowouts than those without RFID tags, according to Ahilan Thiyagarajah, the managing director of Auto RFID Solutions, which installed the system. The tire-management solution, known as e-Tyre and provided by Malaysian RFID company FEC International, consists of an EPC Gen 2 passive RFID patch tag, a tire probe for determining a tire's tread depth and air pressure (the patch tags and tire probes are manufactured by Translogik), a handheld RFID reader and e-Tyre software.

The company began testing the technology in January 2010, during a trial involving three 14-wheeler trucks, for a total of 42 tires. LTS' staff permanently attached an RFID patch tag (an RFID inlay encased in protective layer of rubber) to the exterior of each tire, on the sidewall facing the center of the vehicle. Auto RFID Solutions provided training on how to attach the tags via an adhesive. The unique ID number encoded to each tag is then read using an RFID-enabled AT870 RFID handheld computer made by ATID, and that ID is linked, in the e-Tyre software installed on LTS' back-end system, with tire information input into the handheld reader, such as brand and model numbers. Once the tire is installed on a truck, workers use the handheld to read the tire's tag, then input such information as the truck's vehicle identification number (VIN), license plate number, make, model and depot name, as well as its odometer reading, to link the vehicle to that particular tire.

The RFID system has solved their problems, Ahilan says, by providing the company with alerts whenever tires are due for maintenance, as well as an electronic record of each inspection and its results. LTS had hoped to eliminate the risk of errors during data collection, he explains—such as the incorrect recording of a tire's ID number, or the omission of important details—and to increase visibility into whether the firm's tires were being properly maintained and inflated. The company also hoped to reduce the number of blowouts resulting from improperly inflated tires.

When tire inspections are planned, the e-Tyre data is loaded onto the handheld reader. Staff inspectors go to each truck, and first update mileage and other vehicle data on the handheld terminal, then read each tire's RFID tag. After reading the tag, the inspector uses the tire probe to measure the tire's tread and pressure, and that information is transmitted to the handheld reader via a Bluetooth connection. The operator can then view the results of each measurement on the handheld's screen as the data is received. The reader is then placed in a cradle attached to a PC, and all reader data (tag IDs linked to inspection data) is stored with the tire and vehicle details.

The RFID patch tag, which measures 120 millimeters by 35 millimeters by 5 millimeters (4.7 inches by 1.4 inches by 0.2 inch), has 96 bits of memory for the Electronic Product Code (EPC) number, and an additional 512 bits of user memory; however, LTS is using only the encoded RFID number on the tag. To date, Ahilan says, the greatest benefit that the company has seen from the system has been in ensuring that tire pressure is checked regularly, and that tires are inflated properly when needed. Prior to the system's installation, he explains, about one tire blew out every two months.

RFID World Asia 2011 Expo

RFID World Asia 2011 is back again with more information.

Working closely with EPCglobal and GS1 Singapore, RFID World Asia has been produced with thorough research. It is Asia's longest running RFID-focused conference that is a must-attend for all interested in this technology. The speakers represent the leaders in their fields and will be sharing their thoughts, success and even lessons learnt with the audience.

Date: 13-15 April 2011
Place: SUNTEC Singapore
www.rfidworldasia.com.sg