27th July 2009 – Airetrak in The New Scientist

Airetrak in The New Scientist

Hospitals in the UK and US have resorted to tagging their medical equipment and using indoor tracking systems to monitor its whereabouts, to cut down on the time nurses spend trying to locate misplaced kit. One such RTLS system, developed by UK-based Airetrak, uses small battery-powered tags that last for up to seven years. The Wi-Fi tags emit a unique radio signal that is picked up by the hospital's Wi-Fi network. Staff can use the signal strength of the tags to track equipment to a particular room. The tags also emit ultrasound, so if staff still can't find the equipment, fixed ultrasound detectors in each room will narrow the search. The system can locate equipment to within a metre, says Bob Cockshott of Location and Timing KTN in Teddington, UK.

See the article in the New Scientist