X-TRACKING FOR STERILE GOODS
Hospitals rely on surgical instruments being available in operating theatres to treat patients. higher throughput of acute patients increases the pressure on sterile service departments and the need for visibility in logistics processes.
X-Tracking™ is a real-time tracking solution enabling full visibility on the whereabouts of instruments between operating theatres in several hospitals and a central sterile service department. keeping to operational plans is easier.
CAN YOU RELATE TO ONE OR MORE OF THESE CHALLENGES ?
– Spending too much time calling for instruments when preparing operations
– Cancellation of planned operations due to lack of surgical instruments
– Highly stressed staff when instruments are required urgently
– Low circulation of instruments between operating theatres and sterile services
– Lack of overview of the thousands of surgical instruments
– Sterile service department struggling to keep up providing service
X-TRACKING – STERILE GOODS TRACKING IN HOSPITALS
X-Tracking™ supports real-time tracking of single instruments, trays, and trolleys with different configurations of hardware and software components and tracking technologies.
Sterile Goods tracking solutions are based on five main components:
– The X-Tracking front-end application
– Backend engine and integration layer
– Tag
– Tag reader
Regulatory compliance
Patient safety
Efficient equipment usage
Full visibility
X-Tracking - Frontend
X-Tracking™ is the real-time frontend tracking solution capable of tracking instruments sets, trays and trolleys through workflow and logistic processes. The X-Tracking frontend shows tracking information for instrument sets, full and empty trays, full and empty trolleys to hospital staff, provides search features and features to change status of instruments sets, trays, trolleys and create events.
The X-Tracking frontend consists of the following applications: X-Tracking Web Application, X-Tracking HHT Android App.
In X-Tracking™ hospital staff can easily search for all types of instrument sets by just typing part of a name and location. Staff can search across all types, names, status, locations in X-Tracking™. The search result contains; last seen location, name, status, type and any highlighted notifications.
In X-Tracking HHT Android App staff can manually scan instrument barcodes, RFID tags on trays, barcodes on RFID tray tags, RFID trolley tags to locate instruments as shown below.
INSTRUMENT BARCODES AND TAGS
Laser-etched 2D barcodes are used for tracking single instruments. Each instrument is marked with an SGTIN barcode. 2D barcodes are placed on the non-functional parts of an instrument. Some instrument can be equipped with passive RFID tags, but the RFID technology is still in its infancy in this area.
TRAY TAGS
Trays are tagged with hardcase passive RFID tags that can endure very high temperatures and pressure in the washing and sterilization processes. One RFID tag is mounted on a metal plate in a position, where it can be easily read by ceiling mounted RFID antennas and RFID Handheld Terminals. The RFID tag is programmed with a GIAI code and displays a laser-etched GIAI barcode and human readable text.
TROLLEY TAGS
Trolleys are tagged with hardcase passive RFID tags that can endure the washing process. One RFID tag is mounted in a position, where it can be easily read by ceiling mounted RFID antennas. The RFID tag is programmed with a GIAI code and displays a GIAI barcode and human readable text.
TAG READING HARDWARE
THE SOLUTION
The laser-etched barcodes on single instruments are in most cases handled in a sterile service management system like T-DOC, Canexis etc. When assembling a tray with instruments in the sterile service department, each instrument is linked to a tray as an instrument set. When instruments are used in the operating theatres, they are scanned by staff into the sterile service management system.
The RFID tag on the tray is read by an RFID Handheld Terminal carried by staff when trays are loaded into trolleys. In some cases, the laser-etched barcode on the RFID tag is scanned instead. The trays are linked to the trolley, by reading the RFID tag on the trolley. In X-Tracking an instrument set-tray-trolley relation called Nesting is created and maintained, so every time a trolley changes location, all trays and their instrument sets onboard the trolley change location.
The RFID tags on trays and trolleys are read by xReaders with RFID antennas installed at logistic choke points throughout the hospital. At each choke point, the tray or trolley automatically changes location in X-Tracking when passing through the choke point. If nesting is configured in X-Tracking, all trays in a trolley also automatically change status, e.g. a trolley with trays onboard entering the operating theatre corridor changes status to Available and an event is created for the trolley and all instrument sets in trays.
xReaders are UHF RFID readers with ceiling mounted RFID antennas that are installed at both sides of a logistic choke point such as entries to depots, departments and sterile service department in the hospital. xReaders automatically read and track trolleys and trays passing through choke points. Reading distance in a choke point is reduced to 3-4 meters and timing is within 1-2 seconds.
RFID Handheld Terminals are used by staff to manually register a tray or trolley in a location and change the status of a trolley and trays.
LYNGSOE LIVE LOGISTICS™ - BACKEND AND INTEGRATION
Lyngsoe LIVE Logistics manages and handles data consolidation of barcode readings of tray tags, RFID tag readings from trays and trolleys, processing of data captured from barcodes and RFID labels. It handles location management and location master data.
Lyngsoe LIVE Logistics handles nesting relations and manages a trace database and provides validated tracking information for instrument sets, trays, and trolleys through a standard EPCIS interface to frontend applications and sterile services management systems. Master data for instrument sets and trays are imported from sterile service systems to X-Tracking through EPCIS or a bespoke data interface.
VALUE PROPOSITIONS – SOLUTION THEME
Hospitals face business issues like any other large organization. By introducing RFID technology and X-Tracking into your flow, you will be able to automate and seamlessly deliver value such as:
- Easy to find available instrument sets and trays
- Large time saving in finding the right instrument sets
- Staff have full overview of thousands of instrument sets
- Better planning of operations
- Staff have overview of instrument set expiry
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| Royal Cornwall Hospitals
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