RadarFind, Corp, a Morrisville, NC-based  healthcare technology company, has introduced an industry first – a Real Time Location System (RTLS) for tracking cardiac telemetry devices used to 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 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.

 RadarFind can help hospitals develop a system for retrieving misplaced cardiac telemetry units 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).

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 operate 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. 

Look for more on RadarFind in the July/August issue of Medical Design.