SAN DIEGO, CA--(Marketwire - June 11, 2009) -
Awarepoint Corporation (
www.awarepoint.com)
today announced deployment of its Real-time Location System (RTLS) at the
Rebecca and John Moores UCSD Cancer Center (
http://cancer.ucsd.edu). This
deployment adds a third UCSD Medical Center hospital to Awarepoint's RTLS
(
http://www.awarepoint.com/rtls.shtml) coverage, which currently includes
the system's Thornton and Hillcrest campuses. The Awarepoint enterprise
RTLS installation has now been expanded to include nearly 1.5 million
square feet with more than 2,000 assets under management, covering three
hospitals across nearly 14 miles.
UCSD Medical Center's Awarepoint deployment includes a multiplicity of RTLS
tag (http://www.awarepoint.com/Tags.html) types to support a variety of
business applications at the hospitals. Awarepoint tags broadcast
low-power radio messages which allow users to quickly locate specific
equipment or people and provide information about their movement and status
throughout the enterprise. Each tag features unique functionality and a
specific form factor to support an array of applications:
1. Standard T2A RTLS Asset Tag
Each tag features a unique indicator switch. When triggered, the system
sends an alert which can be configured for specific use cases (e.g., "I'm
ready to be used again," or "I need maintenance").
2. Sterilizable T2S RTLS Asset Tag
The T2S Tag is the industry's first sterilizable RTLS active RFID asset
management tag and is clinically tested for product-specific cleaning,
sterilization and disinfection. Without removing it from equipment, the
T2S Tag endures standard autoclave cycles at temperatures up to 135°C, as
well as immersion in the most common liquid sterilization methods.
3. Temperature Monitoring T2T RTLS Asset Tag
The T2T incorporates reporting and alerting capabilities including
monitoring of temperatures ranging from -28°C to +90°C +/-1°C and automatic
notification alerts if temperature is above or below preset thresholds for
a user-specified amount of time.
The Moores UCSD Cancer Center is using RTLS for the same standard asset
management challenges faced at UCSD Medical Centers' Thornton and Hillcrest
facilities, including:
1. Reducing equipment inventory requirements
2. Lowering equipment rental costs
3. Reducing staff time spent searching for equipment
4. Minimizing equipment theft and loss
Because one of the most challenging and expensive equipment categories to
manage is surgical instrumentation trays, availability of Awarepoint's T2S
sterilizable tag was one of the primary RTLS drivers for the Moores UCSD
Cancer Center installation. On average, UCSD Medical Center processes
4,000 - 5,000 instrumentation trays every month, many of which are shared
between three campuses. Identifying the location and status of these
trays maximizes their usage and lowers the need for additional inventory,
while at the same time reducing surgical case delays, and worse,
cancellations -- which can cost the hospital thousands in surgical team
idle time, decrease operating room utilization and impact the efficiency of
patient care.
As with most facilities, careful budget management at UCSD Medical Center
is essential. "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," said
Tom Hamelin, director of perioperative services at UCSD Medical Center.
Shared inventory allows UCSD Medical Center the opportunity to see more
surgical cases and utilize each of their operating rooms to its fullest
capacity. "This would pose an inventory management nightmare if I didn't
have true enterprise-awareness across all buildings," continued Hamelin.
With Awarepoint, ZigBee (www.zigbee.org) sensors are deployed in standard
electrical outlets to cover the entire enterprise. Using underlying ZigBee
technology and patented computational algorithms, Awarepoint provides true
enterprise-wide awareness -- not only room-level, but persistent accuracy
across the entire hospital footprint. Alternative RTLS systems, like
infrared (IR) or ultrasound, require signal containment (within four walls)
to effectively locate transmitting tags. The accuracy of these systems is
highly dependent on number and placement of receivers and line of sight
between the tag and the receiver.
"With IR or ultrasound systems, customers would need to deploy a dense and
expansive infrastructure to truly cover an entire enterprise," said Matt
Perkins, Awarepoint's chief technology officer. "In addition, with these
alternative technologies, signals can be blocked by normal hospital
processes. Equipment in areas like closets, drawers, case carts, wrapped
assets, etc. will be 'hidden.' This is particularly critical in open areas
like the Sterile Processing Department (SPD), and for assets like
instrumentation trays that are housed in case carts, wrapped trays or
Tyvek® Peel Pouches."
The Awarepoint Real-time Location System was selected because it offers
UCSD Medical Center persistent
room-level location accuracy on an enterprise-wide basis while providing a
100% wireless, non-disruptive installation. Awarepoint's dedicated, but
interoperable, 802.15.4 ZigBee network maintains separation from Wi-Fi and
eliminates interference and security concerns that can adversely affect
mission-critical applications running on the hospital's Wi-Fi
infrastructure.
"Awarepoint's RF-based technologies not only provide room-level accuracy,
they also guarantee enterprise-wide awareness without interference or
security risks," added Perkins. "Awarepoint's business model provides the
hospital a fully managed service that allows easy scalability on a per
asset per month basis."
About Moores UCSD Cancer Center
University of California San Diego (UCSD) operates San Diego's only
academic medical center system of hospitals, clinics and regional specialty
centers. Established in 1979, the Rebecca and John Moores UCSD Cancer
Center is one of just 41 National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive
Cancer Centers in the United States. Such centers are prominent among the
leading institutions in the nation dedicated to scientific innovation and
clinical excellence. UCSD is the only Comprehensive Cancer Center in San
Diego and Imperial counties to have earned this honor. For more
information, visit http://cancer.ucsd.edu
About Awarepoint
Awarepoint's real-time location systems (RTLSs) include its real-time
awareness platform, firmware, active RFID tags, sensors, and bridges.
Awarepoint's technologies collect raw sensor data and transform that data
into high-value positioning information that can be used to add location
awareness to a variety of healthcare, manufacturing, security and other
applications. Requiring no hard wiring, Awarepoint's "plug and track"
ZigBee-based wireless sensor network is a fully managed service, including
hardware, software, remote monitoring and maintenance. The company is
headquartered in San Diego, California and serves its hospital customers
across the United States through an exclusive distribution partnership with
Skytron. Track us down at http://www.awarepoint.com or visit
http://www.skytron.us.
About ZigBee: Control your world
ZigBee is the global wireless language connecting dramatically different
devices to work together and enhance everyday life. The ZigBee Alliance is
a non-profit association of more than 300 member companies driving
development of ZigBee wireless technology. The Alliance promotes
world-wide adoption of ZigBee as the leading wirelessly networked, sensing
and control standard for use in consumer electronics, energy, health care,
home, commercial and industrial areas. For more information, visit:
http://www.zigbee.org
