Awarepoint expands hospital deployment
Awarepoint Corp. has announced the selection of its Real-Time Locating System (RTLS) by the Rebecca and John Moores UCSD Cancer Center in San Diego, Calif. This is the third UCSD hospital facility to deploy the Awarepoint system; the Moores Center joins the UCSD system’s Thornton and Hillcrest campuses in deployment of the system, creating an installation covering nearly 1.5 million square feet and managing over 2,000 assets.
The deployment includes RTLS tags for a variety of applications. The standard tag used in the system offers an indicator switch with an alert function, which can be configured to convey required maintenance or readiness for operation. Also deployed in the system are sterilizable tags able to endure both autoclave temperatures and submersion in most common sterilizing liquids, and temperature sensitive tags capable of monitoring of temperatures ranging from -28°C to +90°C +/-1°C and offering automatic alerts if a temperature is above or below preset thresholds for a user-specified amount of time.
The Awarepoint system includes ZigBee sensors which plug into standard electric outlets to create coverage of an entire enterprise. The patented ZigBee technology removes the barrier restrictions of many systems based on other RTLS technologies like infrared or ultrasound.
The Awarepoint system enables staff to efficiently locate necessary instruments across the three campuses, decreasing the cost in staff time and excess inventory, and helping reduce surgical delays or cancellations due to missing equipment. The option for efficiently shared inventory among the campuses allows UCSD Medical Center the opportunity to see more surgical cases and maximize use of their operating facilities.
“We could not afford to continually stock all 3 campuses with duplicates of each and every one of the assets they may need… particularly costly items such as medical instrumentation tray sets,” says Tom Hamelin, director of perioperative services at UCSD Medical Center. “This would pose an inventory management nightmare if I didn’t have true enterprise-awareness across all buildings.”
