In another example of real-time location system (RTLS) technology--also known as active RFID--San Diego-based Awarepoint has completed independent testing of its T2S sterilizable equipment tags and is ready to bring the product to market. "The tag can survive sterilization in an autoclave," Valerie Fritz, senior VP of marketing for Awarepoint, tells FierceMobileHealthcare. This means that hospitals can now track surgical instrumentation trays with the same kind of RFID technology they use for other pricey assets that don't need to go through steam sterilization.
Awarepoint has been testing the tags at the University of California, San Diego, Medical Center, which expects to save $500,000 a year from better management of surgical instruments. Fritz says all Awarepoint hospital customers should deploy some of the tags in the next 60 to 90 days.
For more information:
- read the Awarepoint press release