Advantech Launches Real-Time Location System (RTLS) Solution-Ready Package (SRP) for Healthcare Applications

Nov 23 2020

Advantech, a leading provider of industrial computing platform solutions, is pleased to announce its real-time location system (RTLS) solution-ready package (SRP) designed for real-time locating and monitoring of medical equipment, staff, and patients.

Image Credit: Advantech

In the healthcare sector, hospital administrators are constantly seeking to improve the patient experience, reduce delays, and maintain a high quality of care. To address these pressures, RTLS solutions that enable asset tracking and are gaining traction in the healthcare sector.

Image Credit: Advantech

By facilitating equipment and patient tracking and locating, as well as automating equipment maintenance and repetitive data entry tasks, RTLS can improve hospital workflows, increase equipment utilization, simplify patient monitoring, and reduce documentation errors.

Advantech’s RTLS SRP is a total hardware-software solution that comprises an edge server, location sensors, tags, dashboards, medical-grade tablets, and RTLS management software. The integration of Advantech’s multi-mode sensing dynamic fusion (MSDF) technology, which utilizes a software algorithm to reduce interference from obstacles, enhances positioning performance in complex indoor environments, making it ideal for hospitals, nursing homes, and clinics.

Optimizes Asset Management for Improved Operations

RTLSs enable the rapid location and tracking of targets and assets, such as people and equipment. Sensors installed at various locations collect data from equipment tags and transmit it to a centralized server via Wi-Fi or Ethernet.

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Diverse interfaces, such as APIs, mobile phones, apps, or integrated management software can then be used to access the data for real-time tracking and management of medical equipment, staff, and patients. This helps hospital administrators reduce time wastage due to missing assets, identify bottlenecks, and optimize processes for improved operational efficiency and patient care.

Bluetooth Tags Provide Accurate Detection at an Affordable Cost

Advantech’s RTLS solution uses Bluetooth tags, which are small devices that can be attached to any object to monitor its location. These tags broadcast Bluetooth signals that can be detected by other Bluetooth devices and readers.

Image Credit: Advantech

Because the Bluetooth standard has been widely adopted around the world, BLE solutions are cheaper and easier to integrate with existing systems and devices compared to other technologies. Moreover, RTLS systems that employ Bluetooth tags offer a detection accuracy of up to 1.5 meters, making them suitable for diverse healthcare applications.

Supports Rapid Installation and Integration in Healthcare Environments

To facilitate easy deployment in a wide range of healthcare environments, the RTLS SRP is designed to be conveniently integrated with existing infrastructure and easy to scale according to specific application requirements. Overall, Advantech’s RTLS offers a significant return on investment by reducing the number of capital assets required, improving staff productivity and operational efficiency, and increasing patient care and satisfaction.

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