The indoor positioning solutions firm, Radianse Inc., has teamed up with St. Croix Systems (developer of the ''WOSYST'' clinical engineering software for asset management) in a non-exclusive development partnership to integrate Radianse''s active RFID technology into WOSYST for the real-time tracking and management of medical devices.

     An indoor positioning system (IPS) provides an indoor equivalent of the well-known global positioning system (GPS), and can extend the potential of RFID''s practical applications in healthcare, according to Radianse. Apart from identifying the physical location of people and equipment, the IPS also provides location information for applications as varied as patient safety, hospital bed tracking, and workflow analysis. 116.30.147.133 This article is copyright 2004 UsingRFID.com.

Networked transmitters
     To track assets with an IPS, an active (battery powered) RFID tag is attached to each medical device. The tag transmits continuous information to nearby receivers which are linked into the hospital''s existing local area network. Web-based location software can then analyse and display the exact location of each item in real time. In the new system from Radianse and St. Croix, the data is also stored for later transfer into any standards-based clinical or hospital information system.

     "Integrating the Radianse technology gives us a competitive edge in the real-time management of mobile assets for healthcare, in terms of both affordability and effectiveness," said Troy Kenyon, CEO and president for St. Croix Systems. "Combined with the Radianse IPS, our asset management solution enables our clients to know where equipment is located, and to make preventive maintenance more efficient."

Peak efficiency
     Michael Dempsey, CEO and CTO for Radianse, explained: "Everything about the IPS is designed to remove the high cost and complexity of determining location. We fully expect to make a real impact on asset shrinkage, which costs healthcare millions annually."

     According to Dempsey, there is also great potential for using this location data to make products, systems and processes more intelligent throughout a hospital. Automatic device configuration, automatic log-on and log-off for clinical computer systems, and real-time workflow adjustments are among the advancements that could be possible using such a system.

 

 

 

 

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