German real-time location systems (RTLS) software company Infsoft has released a packaged solution for tracking medical equipment via Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE). The solution, known as MedEquip Tracking, is intended to ensure the location of high-value assets, as well as enable analytics and management. The company intends for its customers to expand their use cases over time. The system can capture the locations of assets but could be expanded to manage patient and staff movements, collect sensor data and use hybrid technology solutions in some cases, depending on its needs.
Initially, says Thomas Winkler, Infsoft’s COO, the MedEquip Tracking solution is focused on locating assets, which is a common pain point for healthcare providers. The packaged solution, designed to be low in cost and simple to deploy, was built based on commonalities Infsoft identified in the numerous healthcare deployments it has provided. The system consists of BLE beacons that can be applied to assets of varying sizes, shapes and materials, including endoscopes, IV pumps, ECG devices, beds and wheelchairs. The beacons transmit their ID numbers to devices called Locator Beacons, typically installed at the room or zone level.
Infsoft’s MedEquip Tracking solution
The Locator Beacons forward data to an Infsoft Locator Node, which in turn sends that information to the company’s LocAware platform in the cloud. Hospitals can employ the solution’s dashboards and reporting tools to view the current location of and historical movement data about each item to which a beacon is attached. Every becaon’s unqiue identifier is linked to a specific asset’s information, such as the date of acquisition, assigned station and next maintenance date. Users can configure their own automatic notifications.
The system was released in October 2021 and has since been deployed by hospitals located primarily in Switzerland, as well as in some other parts of Europe, and technology partner Siemens Health is providing the solution to its own customers. Infsoft, founded in 2005 in the city of Ingolstadt, provides solutions that automatically capture the locations of individuals and assets, then analyzes that data to provide hospital and office workplace experience systems, Winkler says. The company’s solutions leverage BLE, Wi-Fi, LoRa and ultra-wideband (UWB) technologies.
Infsoft’s first deployment was a Wi-Fi-based wayfinding system that was implemented at the hospital of the University of Würzburg, where company founder Tobias Donaubauer had been earning his computer science and mathematics degree at the time. He launched the firm leveraging mostly Wi-Fi-based tracking solutions, Winkler says. “Of course, technology is always evolving,” he notes—for instance, with the rise of BLE and UWB that serve a variety of use cases. “We follow a technology-agnostic approach,” and any hardware is leveraged with the LocAware platform.
Thomas Winkler
The MedEquip Tracking solution is centered around low-cost BLE technology for hopsital asset management. “The technology provides several benefits to healthcare facilities,” Winkler says. Bluetooth beacons typically do not affect other transmission technologies that may be in use in a hospital, such as Wi-Fi, and solutions can be relatively easily to install. In a typical deployment, he notes, BLE beacon tags are applied to assets and the unique ID number of each tag is linked to details about that item in the LocAware software.
Each Locator Beacon can be plugged directly into an outlet to capture tag transmissions, thereby providing room-level accuracy for every tagged asset. According to Winkler, the beacons can be deployed at a typical cost of approximately $20 apiece. Infsoft selects the appropriate hardware vendors for each deployment and builds its own firmware into those devices. Businesses can request specialized hardware that could include sensors or IP67 enclosures.
The company serves end users directly and also works with partners, such as Siemens Health. This year, Siemens Health deployed the solution at University Erlingen Hospital‘s radiology department. As each tagged item’s data is captured, the facility can confirm the room in which that item is located, as well as view if that status changes, such as when an asset is taken to another room or removed from the radiology area. Beyond providing location data, the software enables beacon configuration and asset visualization on a 3D map.
The captured data, Winkler explains, includes a history of where an asset has been, how often it is used and any other preconfigured events of value to the hospital—basically, “everything that is improtant for decision makers to determine how equipment is being used.” Although the solution is intended to be easy to deploy, he adds, the data generated can be detailed and preconfigured within the platform. “You’re not limited to a singualr scenario.” Once a hopsital adopts the system for asset management, it can be expanded to other applications, such as patient tracking.
Infsoft provides BLE-enabled wristbands and anklebands with tamper-alert functionality, which can be attached to vulnerable patients, including newborn infants and individuals with dementia. The same system can be used with smartphones, leveraging an app provided by the hospital, as well as an opt-in feature to connect patients and family members. A patient could employ the app to capture their location as they receive treatment, from diagnostic screening to surgical procedures or patient rooms. They can then automatically share their location with authorized indvidiuals, such as a spouse or parent, who can receive updates as their position changes.
In addition, the system can provide alerts or prompt an action. One example is to trigger a message to be sent once a device’s maintenance date is approaching. Another scenario might be to capture the status of a bed. For example, the software can determine whether a bed is in use, based on its location, along with whether or not it has been cleaned and which patient is using that bed if that person is wearing a weristband. Notifications or alerts could be issued based on events such as a patient getting out of bed, or a bed leaving the ward or zone in which it is intended to be used.
Beyond healthcare, other companies have employed the solution with a phased approach of adding new applications leveraging the existing technology. A pharmaceutical company in Basel, Switzerland, is using the system to manage its use of office space as employees resume in-office work following the COVID-19 quarantine. They can carry or wear BLE badges (or authorize BLE data from their phones) to provide location details, and thereby enable the company to track occupancy in conference rooms or cafeterias.
What’s more, the drug company can now track assets, including individual pippets used for lab-based product development. Other businesses are deploying Infsoft’s solutions as hybrid systems. In some cases, UWB is necessary to obtain specific location data within confined areas, while potentially thousands of Locator Beacons can be installed in wide areas where highly granular location is unecessary. Instead, the beacons could identify location on a room level or zone level
Overall, Winkler says, the MedEquip Tracking solution is intended to create greater transparency regarding the availability and utilization of individual devices. It can also avoid bottlenecks, enhance staff productivity and make work processes more efficient, he adds. Facility operators can expect to achieve cost savings, Winkler reports, and waiting times for patients can be reduced. The solution is now being deployed at several hospitals. “We’re scaling a lot in the Swiss market,” he states, and Infsoft also has cusotmers throughout Europe, Dubai and the United States.