RFID Healthcare: Sonitor Technologies Launches Semi-Disposable RTLS Patient Tag At HIMSS Conference

Sonitor Technologies, Inc., the leading developer, manufacturer and supplier of 100% room-level location or more accurate ultrasound Indoor Positioning System (IPS) and Real-Time Location Systems (RTLS), recently announced the release of a single patient use, outer shell cased patient, Active Ultrasound wristband Tag.

The patented Active Ultrasound Tag will be showcased at the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) 2008 Conference, held at the Orange County Convention Center on February 24 – 28 in Orlando, Florida. Sonitor will be exhibiting its new releases in Booth# 3815. The new Sonitor Patient Tag will also be on display at the HIMSS exhibits of several of Sonitor's solutions partners.

The Tag, named P-Tag, weighing less than an ounce and measuring 1.4x1.5x0.7 inches, is a small battery-powered wireless device, easily attached by snapping the shell onto any standard patient wristband, or similar band or lanyard. Protected against possible infectious contamination by the disposable outer shell, the core is designed for repeated use without the need for cleaning.

The new generation Tag features provide the following user benefits:

• A low cost, disposable, single use, waterproof outer shell, which protects the core against possible infectious contamination.
• Safe, simple and comfortable attachment of Tag to any standard patient wristband with snap-on solution.
• A reusable electronics core with circuitry for the Sonitor ultrasound-based indoor positioning system (IPS).
• A special method to safely remove the core, which renders the shell useless, preventing reuse of a potentially contaminated shell.
• Long life, disposable batteries pre-installed.
• Small and discrete size.

"In 2005, there were over 37 million admissions to US hospitals. Using input from hospital personnel at some of Sonitor's deployment sites, we developed a low cost Patient-Tag specifically for the different needs of the healthcare market." said Terry Aasen, CEO of Sonitor Technologies. "The Tag will – as part of the Sonitor IPS – help healthcare facilities all over the world spend less time searching for patients, improve room and bed turnover, increase patient throughput in ED's and OR's, and in fact free up capacity for what's most important; caring for and treating patients. The Sonitor IPS ultrasound provides 100% room-level and bed-level location accuracy, which is highly desirable for tracking of association events, such as a clinician with patient, or a patient with specialty equipment which is beneficial for patient safety records and can help capture otherwise lost invoicing events".

"This inexpensive outer shell provides the needed hygienic barrier to eliminate possible risks of infection which is associated with the reuse of other RFID and WiFi tracking tags that are only adapted and not purpose-built for patient use" Dr. Wilfred Booij, Sonitor Technologies' CTO added.

The P-Tag pilot is underway in a Los Angeles hospital.

The P-Tag transmits its own, unique identification code using ultrasound in the frequency range 35 to 45 kHz at configurable transmission intervals. A Sonitor IPS Detector (microphone) receives and transfers the Tag ID-code to a server, leveraging the hospitals' wired or wireless LAN, which stores the Tag's location and the time-stamp information in its database. The tracking information can then be accessed by users on computers, tablet PCs, PDAs and mobile phones using application software solutions from 3rd party software applications to which Sonitor is integrated.

To see the new P-tag and Sonitor's ultrasound Indoor Positioning system and its products, visit Booth #3815 at HIMSS on February 24-28 in Orlando

For more information on Sonitor and its products visits www.sonitor.com or contact the sales department at Toll Free: (+1) (877) 477 9767 or mail.sonitor.com

About Sonitor Technologies, Inc.
Sonitor Technologies is the developer, manufacturer and supplier of a proprietary ultrasound indoor positioning system (IPS) that automatically tracks with reliable 100% room-level or better accuracy the real-time location of moveable equipment and people in complex indoor environments, such as hospitals. Sonitor Technologies' RTLS technology is designed for seamless integration with third party software and integration solutions. Sonitor Technologies was founded in Norway in 1997. To learn more about Sonitor Technologies and its ultrasound IPS, please visit the corporate website at www.sonitor.com.

SOURCE: Sonitor Technologies Inc.