The SmartSponge RFID tag
is roughly the size of a penny
Image courtesy of ClearCount
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OR
inventory made simple
PITTSBURGH — Surgical sponges accidentally lost
inside patients during operations can lead to sepsis,
obstruction and litigation. But these cases could soon
be a thing of the past thanks to the new FDA-approved
SmartSponge System.
The system includes surgical sponges
tagged with a sewn-on, unique radio frequency identification
(RFID) chip. The sponges can be located and automatically
counted using a handheld RFID scanner.
The painstaking task of sponge
counting is currently done by eye, and with the assistance
of X-ray detection. The RFID system eliminates the need
for line of sight, counts multiple sponges simultaneously,
and does the math too. A trial of the system last year
at Stanford found it to be foolproof, with no false
positives or false negatives when tested by surgeons
for its sponge seeking and counting utility.
While sponges account for the majority
of lost surgical items, others — such as the infamous
forgotten scalpel — may soon get their own RFID
chips courtesy of ClearCount, which is widening the
scope of its surgical counting products.
New and improved, and
just plain nifty
Image courtesy HD Medical
Group Ltd |
High-tech
auscultation
MELBOURNE — Feeling like the old stethoscope needs
a digital age makeover? The HD Medical Group thought
so too and has developed the ViScope, a high-tech version
of the doctor's most faithful tool.
According to HD Medical Group,
the ViScope can not only help you hear better, but also
see and record heart activity, reducing the need to
call in a specialist. The ViScope retains most of the
traditional stethoscope's look and handling. It comes
fully loaded with slick features like a real time LCD
screen to help identify characteristic activity patterns.
Running on a lithium ion battery, it also has an adjustable
volume, and can amplify heart signals in the noisiest
of examination rooms.
Rather than using heart sounds,
it monitors cardiac activity by bouncing low-voltage
radio waves off of the heart, which are then translated
into audio and video signals. The company is beginning
a clinical trial of the device with 500 patients next
month.
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