RFID Tracks Mattresses to Ensure Hygiene
A public hospital in Northern Germany is partnering with Joh. Stiegelmeyer GmbH & Co. and Siemens IT Solutions and Services to use radio frequency identification (RFID) to ensure that beds are cleaned appropriately, as well as in a timely manner. The project was described in the RFID Journal.
The organizations have been collaborating to complete this process in a stepped testing phase. The preliminary phase ran for approximately one year, starting in June 2006. The hospital tagged hospital mattresses, manufactured by Stiegelmeyer, in one ward using the Siemens RFID tags. Beds are also tagged.
Once a patient’s bed is no longer in use, the hospital’s bed-management software (called b.loc) indicates the type of cleaning required, this is contingent upon the patient’s illness. A highly infectious condition requires disinfection, other diseases may warrant cleaning alone. Beds are removed from patient’s rooms and sent to the basement where cleaning occurs.
The basement includes the RFID interrogator antenna to read the tags. The information on the required cleaning for each bed and mattress is relayed to the cleaning staff, who then either disinfect or wash beds. After washing is complete, the tags are read two final times. The b.loc system is updated to describe the type of cleaning performed and to detail the number of both mattresses and beds available.
This project is now being expanded to include tagging the mattresses in two more wards at the facility. This will allow the institution to to collect additional data and determine potential cost savings by implementing the project hospital wide. The hospital invested in the project to reduce unnecessary cleanings and the environmental implications of such, as well as saving money related to streamlining the hygiene process.
The Siemens tags used are UHF 869 MHz passive RFID tags. Tags are encoded with a unique identifier only. The mattress tags are less expensive than those used to tag the beds themselves. The interrogator antennas are also from Siemens.
A similar project was already implemented at the University of Bern Hospital in Switzerland, according to the Siemens team. The facility implanted RFID tags to all the beds and mattresses in the facility. The hospital suggests that over $171,000 will be saved annually.
November 5, 2007 Related topics: Wireless, New Technology & Innovation, Partnerships & Consortia, Hygiene & Cleanliness