Asset Tracking for Surgical Instruments
09/06/2011
As well as ensuring surgical instruments are sterile hospitals and medical centres also need to make sure instruments are maintained in prime condition and available as and when required to meet the demands of modern patient care, which requires detailed asset tracking.
Considering that most hospitals will have many thousands of surgical instruments in a wide variety of different types and sets successful asset tracking can be tricky. A common issue is when one or two surgical instruments from a much larger set become damaged and need replacement or repair all too easily the items can be overlooked. Many healthcare organisations current have no way of asset tracking surgical instruments and recording how many times they have been used and if and when they were last repaired or replaced.
However there is a solution, by marking each surgical instrument with a unique barcode the precise history can be determined and tracked from use through decontamination and back on location on trays. This enables each tray and surgical instrument to be tracked with a specific operation and patient.
Such asset tracking procedures give assurance that specific day-to-day operational needs have been met by providing:
- handling details
- details of decontamination
- maintenance history
- accurate reporting
In addition you can:
- surgical instrument availability
- how many surgical instruments are required
- how frequently each surgical instrument is used
ID Mini Mark is next generation asset label technology suitable for surgical instrument tracking.
The relative size of 6mm or 9mm diameter asset labels lends itself to such applications and they can contain 20 – 30 digits within a small 2D code. These codes allow much more information to be stored than is possible with a 1D barcode – and in a much smaller space. The 2D Datamatrix code format includes built-in ECC220 error correction to allow recognition of codes even if they are 60% damaged.
The special Mini Mark material is suitable for Autoclave sterilisation and highly resistant to most chemicals, solvents, abrasion, impact and weather and will withstand temperatures up to 225°C short term and down to -60°C. It has a high performance acrylic adhesive with excellent initial tack.
Tamper evident and non-transferable the labels will fragment if removal is attempted.
Dantech has printed and supplied labels since 1990 and our continuous investment in the latest technology and ability to understand the customer's requirements is the key to our success. Today we are amongst the leaders in the fields of asset labelling solutions and customised ID requirements for offices and industry. Our goal has always been to supply top quality products from leading manufacturers.
