rfidjournal.comAeroScout, a provider of Wi-Fi based real-time location systems (RTLS), has announced a Wi-Fi RFID tag for tracking surgical equipment through its entire lifecycle—from sterilization to the operating room. The AeroScout Autoclave tag is designed to withstand rigorous sterilization processes, the company reports, including ultrasonic cleaning, high-pressure liquid sterilization and steam autoclaving. According to AeroScout, the combination of these new tags with AeroScout's health-care RTLS solution is aimed at helping hospitals improve staff efficiency, automate inventory management and optimize operating-room workflow. The new tag is designed for attachment to surgical instrument trays and other equipment, so that they may be automatically tracked while progressing through the numerous stages of preparation for surgical procedures, and then through the perioperative process. After every use, surgical equipment requires thorough sterilization, often including an autoclave. The AeroScout Autoclave Tag handles temperatures of 135 degrees Celsius (275 degrees Fahrenheit) and changes in pressure experienced during cleaning and sterilization, ranging from negative pressure (a vacuum) to 35 pounds per square inch. In addition, the tag is designed to deliver a battery life of two years, and to withstand the harsh conditions of hundreds of sterilization cycles.
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