RFID Retrofitting Workflow for Surgical Asset Tracking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Healthcare facilities face challenges in implementing asset tracking technologies due to issues such as RFID chip dislodgement, biomaterial retention, sterilization compatibility, detection optimization, and regulatory compliance, which disrupt normal operations and lead to inefficiencies and human errors in managing surgical instruments and other assets.
Innovation Solution
A method for retrofitting healthcare assets with durable RFID chips involves a pre-processing phase at the facility, a manufacturing phase at a separate location, and a return phase to ensure compliance with regulations and minimal disruption, using computational processors to assign unique identifiers and integrate data into databases for asset and process management.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If surgical instruments are retrofitted with RFID chips at the facility, then asset tracking capability is improved, but operational disruption increases and manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The retrofitting process is segmented into two distinct phases: a pre-processing phase completed at the surgical facility before surgery, and a manufacturing phase completed at a separate location after surgery. This segmentation allows the facility to maintain normal surgical operations while preparing instruments for RFID retrofitting, and enables specialized manufacturing expertise to be applied without disrupting facility operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The RFID chip implantation process is extracted from the surgical facility and relocated to a separate manufacturing location. This extraction removes the disruptive manufacturing activity from the facility environment, allowing the facility to focus on its primary function of patient care and surgical procedures without interruption.
2Reliability
If RFID chips are implanted during surgery, then asset tracking is improved, but risk of chip dislodgement increases and surgical time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The RFID chip implantation is performed as a preliminary action during the pre-processing phase before the actual surgical procedure. This preliminary action allows the chip to be securely implanted and stabilized in the instrument before surgery begins, eliminating the risk of dislodgement during the surgical procedure and avoiding any addition to surgical time.
3Reliability
If manual counting of surgical assets is performed, then process management is improved, but time consumption increases and human error increases
Solution Approach 1:
The manual mechanical counting process is replaced with an automated RFID-based tracking system. RFID readers automatically detect and identify surgical instruments equipped with RFID chips, eliminating the need for manual counting by surgical staff. This substitution reduces time consumption and eliminates human errors associated with manual counting while maintaining comprehensive process management capability.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach enables efficient, compliant, and cost-effective asset tracking that minimizes operational disruption, enhances data accuracy, and supports regulatory requirements, improving inventory control and process management in healthcare facilities.
Implementation Method 1
each asset unit carries a durable information identifier... utilizing durable information identifier detectors to obtain data for quantifying or qualifying asset unit use
Data Source
AI summary
Healthcare asset units are enabled to accomplish a healthcare facility management objective by first preparing the asset units in a pre-processing phase by using a computational processor to determine a first unique identifier for each asset unit. The prepared asset units are then transported in a removal phase to a manufacturer location, retrofit in a manufacturing phase at the manufacturer location by applying manufacturing processes to implement the durable information identifier on each asset unit, and by using a computational processor to determine a second unique identifier for each asset unit. The prepared asset units are then transported in a return phase, from the manufacturer location to a healthcare facility where the retrofitted asset units are subsequently used to accomplish a healthcare facility management objective.