Keeping track

Technology that uses Wi-Fi and ultrasound to track hospital equipment could improve patient care.

The tracking system, developed by Airetrak, is designed to address the issue of lost equipment in environments that have an existing Wi-Fi infrastructure. Hospitals, which are some of the biggest adopters of Wi-Fi in the UK, have been targeted by the company as an ideal area to use the technology.

‘Typically, you can have 20,000 bits of equipment moving around the hospital at any point in time,’ said Roger Willmott, the chief executive of Airetrak. ‘You can imagine in a large hospital you have multiple buildings, multiple floors and multiple wards, so it can sometimes be difficult to find equipment.

‘The average price of equipment is £2,000, so not being able to find something when it’s needed not only has a huge impact on financial issues, but also patient care and safety as well.’

The technology works like a GPS system but indoors. A Wi-Fi tag that emits a radio signal is attached to the equipment and the strength of the radio signals can be used to calculate the location of the equipment.