Tracking Systems
A tracking system that significantly aids in the successful conservation of stored blood has been developed and put into use at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center.
Launched at the hospital in August 2010, the technology employs proprietary real-time location system (RTLS) tags affixed to the exteriors of portable coolers to track their location and elapsed time in use. The system was created at Wake Forest Baptist by Ron Noel, a resource-management manager, and Mary Rose Jones, blood bank manager.
By tracking the location and elapsed time of coolers and electronically conveying that information to the appropriate personnel, RTLS allows staff members to retrieve coolers containing unused blood before a specified time expires, which greatly reduces the possibility that unused blood may have to be destroyed. Blood must be kept chilled, typically between 1 and 6 degrees Celsius (33.8 to 42.8 degrees Fahrenheit), to be suitable for use in transfusions and other medical procedures. Any blood stored in a cooler beyond the specific effective time span (generally between five and 10 hours) is considered expired and must be destroyed, even if not used.
“We use RTLS technology to track the location of wheelchairs, beds and other mobile items,” says Noel. “We employed the RTLS system to track the coolers and added a timing function to alert the blood bank staff when the validated time is approaching.”
The tracking system’s software displays each cooler’s status on a computer monitor. When a cooler’s status changes, the system changes the color of that cooler’s screen icon and automatically sends an e-mail notice to designated addresses.
“Since adopting the RTLS system last August, the results have been outstanding. We have not lost one cooler in the medical center,” Jones says. “We also have reduced labor time – blood bank staff members no longer have to make multiple phone calls trying to locate coolers – and realized considerable dollar savings.”
A provisional application for a patent on the tracking system has been filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Noel and Jones are listed as the inventors; Wake Forest Baptist would be the holder of the patent.
The Office of Technology Asset Management (OTAM) at Wake Forest Baptist is working with Noel to form a company, Time Temp Trac, that will market the system to hospitals and other healthcare facilities. Wake Forest Baptist will have an equity share in the company.
