Patient Safety Increasingly Reliant on
RFID
Patient Safety One of Many Applications RFID-enabled by SkyeTek’s Advanced
Universal Reader Architecture (AURA™)
May 17, 2006 – Westminster, Colo.
– SkyeTek, the
leading provider of embedded RFID reader technology and developer of ReaderWareTM,
today announced that more than 30 customers are using its technology in vital patient
safety applications. By embedding SkyeTek’s
reader technology as a feature in their products, these companies are improving
diagnosis reliability and point of care in areas such as laboratory analysis,
mammograms, blood transfusions, medication delivery, prostate treatment, and LASIK
eye surgery.
TioMed has integrated both SkyeTek
RFID reader technology and 802.11 (WiFi) network connectivity into their BASICHemo
handset in order to automate type matching prior to a blood transfusion. Once the handset matches the blood type on
the patient’s RFID-tagged wristband with the type on the blood unit’s RFID tag,
it allows the transfusion to proceed. Throughout
the procedure, the handset sends data via its 802.11 wireless network
connection to a central database that keeps a record of events and results for
each patient. BASICHemo was designed to
automate blood transfusions which number over 50 million per year worldwide.
“We launched our BASICHemo system in
April and since then, have experienced very strong demand – hospitals see that they
can save patient lives and increase medical staff productivity by using this
automated solution,” says Marco Rossi, Director of Engineering for TioMed. “The use of RFID as the enabling technology
would not have been possible if not for SkyeTek’s unique architecture that provides
fully functional RFID reader technology at a price point and form factor required
for embedded applications.”
Unlike
today’s monolithic supply chain-oriented reader architectures, SkyeTek has
designed AURA to serve as the universal reader architecture for embedded RFID
applications such as patient safety.
Available to customers as complete reader modules or ReaderWare
licenses, AURA provides highly intelligent reader software and small, low-cost,
power-efficient reader modules. When
licensing ReaderWare, customers also gain access to ReaderDNA reference designs
which allow them to manufacture their own modules at a savings of 40 – 75%
versus typical reader modules.
Another patient safety customer, Medica uses SkyeTek’s RFID technology to
improve the reliability of test results coming from its EasyLyte analyzers,
which test for electrolytes in blood, serum, plasma, and urine samples. Using
the proper reagent system with the electrolyte analyzer is critical to obtaining
accurate test results. By checking calibration
values, expiration dates, usage dates and other parameters encoded in the
reagent’s RFID tag, the SkyeTek reader module, embedded in Medica’s analyzer,
ensures that the correct reagent is being used.
“Within six months of contacting SkyeTek, our EasyLyte Analyzers were on
the market with the capability of ensuring the integrity of Medica’s reagents,”
says Robert Hagopian, CEO of Medica. “Market acceptance has been so
encouraging, we are moving towards retrofitting existing electrolyte analyzers
in the field to incorporate SkyeTek’s reference design and ReaderWare software.
SkyeTek’s architecture and business model are an ideal fit for in vitro
diagnostic device manufacturers such as Medica.”
To learn
more about SkyeTek, AURA, ReaderWare, ReaderDNA, or any of its SkyeModules,
visit www.skyetek.com, send an email to sales@skyetek.com, call 720-565-0441.
Photos available upon request.