MORRISVILLE, NC, June 04, 2009
/24-7PressRelease/ -- RadarFind Corporation, a healthcare technology company offering a patented enterprise-wide Real Time Location System (RTLS) for tracking medical equipment and patients, is introducing a new location tracking capability for cardiac telemetry devices - the first of its kind in the RTLS industry.
Development of the innovative location tag is evidence of RadarFind continuing to distinguish the company as the only provider of RTLS solutions purposely designed and engineered for hospitals. From its technology platform to new location and tracking tags, RadarFind continues to support its hospital partners and rapidly respond with custom applications specific to the healthcare environment.
Most recently, RadarFind worked with WakeMed Health & Hospitals of Raleigh, N.C. to develop new system performance enhancements. Today, the company is collaborating with Mary Washington Hospital of Fredericksburg, VA, to create an asset-tracking tag designed specifically to fit cardiac telemetry units.
"Tracking equipment in hospitals poses unique challenges, and RadarFind offers the only technology available to comprehensively address these needs while offering the flexibility for future adaptations. We are confident that forward-thinking hospitals will continue to envision new ways to leverage an asset and patient tracking system, and we remain committed to working with our partners to ensure our technology evolves accordingly," said RadarFind CEO Terry Kane, M.D.
Tracking Telemetry Units Improves Patient Safety While Reducing Unnecessary Costs
Tracking cardiac telemetry devices enables hospitals to improve their quality of patient care. Cardiac telemetry devices monitor a patient's heart rate and transmit that information usually to a nurse's station. These telemetry units give patients the freedom to move about while allowing patient care staff to monitor their condition at all times and respond in the event of an emergency. RadarFind's ability to pinpoint a device's location to within a specific room or area allows patient care staff to see exactly where the patient wearing the telemetry unit is when he or she needs assistance.
The wearable units are small and portable (about the size of a deck of cards), so patients can leave their beds and walk around or be transported by stretcher while still being monitored by trained patient care staff. However, due to their size, expensive telemetry devices (average price $3,000) are often misplaced or rolled up in bed linens, mistakenly laundered and destroyed, costing hospitals thousands of dollars. Keeping better track of them has become a priority for healthcare professionals.
"RadarFind's flexibility, technological innovation, and first-hand understanding of everyday issues facing hospitals far surpassed any of the other solutions we considered. They were aware of the significant losses and frustration incurred each year from lost telemetry units, and their engineering team deftly responded to the physical challenge of designing a tag to fit these life-saving devices," said Andy Holden, director of biomedical services for Mary Washington Hospital. "RadarFind's flexibility in working with us to develop this tag underscores their commitment to helping hospitals eliminate unnecessary costs while improving patient care."
By using asset tags on cardiac telemetry units and configuring the hospital's RTLS to provide email or pager alerts when the units approach pre-specified locations (such as exits) RadarFind can help hospitals develop a system for retrieving misplaced cardiac telemetry units before they leave the hospital property or end up in the laundry.
Design Reflects Hospital-centric Approach to RTLS
Like all RadarFind tracking devices, asset tags for cardiac telemetry units operate in the 900 MHz ISM band, which does not interfere with other telemetry frequencies and operates independently of a hospital's mission-critical Wi-Fi networks. Plug-in readers receive information from RadarFind's asset tags and transmit this information to a server, which then makes real-time location tracking information available on any computer or PDA connected to the hospital's Intranet.
RadarFind originally worked with hospitals to produce the industry's only tag to include a three-state color-coded status switch indicating if a piece of equipment is in-use, available or needs cleaning. This feature ensures that hospital personnel not waste time "finding" equipment that is already in use and also enables a hospital to measure utilization rates and accurately assess their needs when planning capital expenditures. Tracking the status of equipment is also a powerful tool when incorporated into infection control protocol.
Unlike other RTLS solutions, RadarFind is deployed enterprise-wide, rather than in one department. RadarFind's non-disruptive installation, flexible design and precise room-level accuracy allow its hospital users to create a custom RTLS that perfectly suits their needs.
About RadarFind
RadarFind Corporation, a health care technology company, offers a unique, patented Real Time Location System that uses a platform technology for tracking medical equipment and patients. Specifically designed for hospitals by healthcare professionals, the RadarFind RTLS system seamlessly integrates with existing hospital infrastructure and operations, while functioning independently of a hospital's critical WiFi network. Headquartered in the greater Raleigh-Durham, N.C. area, RadarFind develops integrated hardware and software solutions for their hospital customers. For more information please call (919) 228-2100 or visit http://www.radarfind.com.
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