A Medical Device Daily

AeroScout (Redwood City, California) a provider of unified asset visibility solutions, reported at the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS; Chicago) conference in Orlando, Florida, that it has been selected by Hill-Rom (Batesville, Indiana) to provide healthcare visibility solutions to the provider’s extensive network of hospital customers.

Hill-Rom will integrate AeroScout’s Healthcare Visibility Suite, a comprehensive set of wireless solutions designed to increase visibility of assets and patients within healthcare facilities, into its existing healthcare offerings.

“The ability to track and locate medical equipment, patients or caregivers is one of the primary challenges our hospitals face when it comes to streamlining the delivery of safe and effective care,” said Eric McDonald, business unit director, wireless communications and integrations, in Hill-Rom’s IT Solutions group.

He added, “AeroScout’s breadth of experience, proven success and ability to integrate with existing IT and network infrastructures made them the clear choice for a strategic partner. As we integrate our solutions, adding AeroScout’s Healthcare Visibility Suite will help our network of hospitals gain the critical insight they need into daily operations.”

AeroScout also reported an agreement with Patient Care Technology Systems (PCTS; Mission Viejo, California), a subsidiary of Consulier Engineering (Riviera Beach, Florida.)

PCTS will utilize AeroScout’s Wi-Fi-based Active RFID solution, which includes Wi-Fi tags, MobileView software and Exciters for chokepoint capabilities, to provide hospitals with accurate location and status information for equipment, patients and staff.

AeroScout and PCTS are currently deploying several integrated patient and asset tracking implementations that focus on improving workflow in emergency and surgical service departments.

PCTS pioneered the use of real-time locating systems to automatically track patients and assets in emergency departments and today provides purpose-built solutions for surgical services, outpatient services as well as enterprise-wide needs. Department-specific process rules recognize and time-stamp patient care milestones based on the measurement of location, movement and interactions between patients, staff and mobile medical equipment.

PCTS said its tracking solutions have supported more than 3 million high-0acuity patient encounters at leading hospitals nationwide.

In other news from the conference:

• Welch Allyn (Skaneateles Falls, New York) a manufacturer of front-line medical products and solutions, reported introducing the Spot Vital Signs LXi with wireless data transfer, making it the first company to offer wireless vital signs transmission capabilities from the bedside. Dubbed the industry’s fastest multi-parameter spot-check device, the Spot Vital Signs LXi now offers the fastest way to send patient information to electronic health records (EHRs.)

The device uses Welch Allyn Connex Data Management System technology, a barcode scanner, and a wireless radio to capture and transfer patient vital signs to a wide variety of EHRs — providing what the company terms “a simple workflow solution in low-acuity hospital settings.”

The Spot Vital Signs LXi with wireless data transfer automates the capture of basic vital signs, and the Connex Data Management System sends the results directly into the facility’s EHR system.

• Draeger (Telford, Pennsylvania) unveiled the newly improved Infinity Omega solution, now with a widescreen. This integrated two-screen patient monitoring solution consists of a full-function patient monitor capable of supporting patient transport. Its 20” medical-grade touch-screen bedside computer brings IT applications to the point of care.

Infinity Omega displays real-time monitoring and ventilation data together with networked data – such as lab results, DICOM/X-ray images, and patient/anesthesia data management system information – and allows control of monitoring functions from either screen.

Based on a combination of technical innovations, the Infinity Omega solution integrates an Infinity Delta series patient monitor and docking station with an Infinity C700 for IT workstation and Infinity Explorer software. The Infinity Delta monitor provides continuous monitoring at the bedside and on transport, while the patented Infinity Docking Station provides power, network connectivity and departmental screen configuration data. The Infinity C700 displays integrated patient data at the bedside on a 20” wide touchscreen display. Infinity Explorer software enables two-way communication between the Delta and the Infinity C700, bridging the gap between patient monitors and the IT infrastructure of the hospital.

• InnerWireless (Richardson, Texas) a provider of converged wireless solutions, reported strategic partnerships with Cisco (San Jose, California), Hospira (Lake Forest, Illinois) and PatientKeeper (Newton, Massachusetts) to create solutions that give caregivers “everywhere, everytime access to the clinical applications they need.”

The company said that with its solutions, “physicians, nurses and patients can communicate and access data wirelessly from anywhere inside the hospital, including at the point of care.”

It said that through its new partnerships with other healthcare solution companies, InnerWireless can “enable clinicians to reliably use wireless devices to access patient information from lab results to vital signs, as well as locate assets. These capabilities help ensure that clinicians have the information and equipment they need for more responsive care, better-informed decision making and improved patient interaction at the point of care.”

• Sunquest Information Systems (Raleigh, North Carolina) is demonstrating a number of new and upgraded solutions including CoPathPlus v4.0 anatomic pathology system, the Sunquest Collection Manager v3.0, and several newly-branded Sunquest Laboratory solutions at the HIMSS conference. Additionally, Sunquest will host numerous presentations throughout the week at its booth featuring U.S. hospital executives who will discuss real-world solutions to healthcare industry problems towards improving workflow and productivity, increasing patient safety, and addressing emerging technology trends.

“This is an incredibly exciting and positive time at Sunquest. We’re expanding our portfolio of diagnostic data solutions and developing innovative new technologies to meet the current and future needs of our customers,” said President/CEO Richard Atkin. “[This] is our first major trade show as a private corporation, and we’re looking forward to many face-to-face meetings with customers, respected colleagues, and industry partners.”