Pittsburgh-based ClearCount Medical Solutions has introduced a radio frequency identification-based surgical sponge detection system.
Its SmartSponge system consists of sponges permanently affixed with a passive RFID tag that's smaller than the size of a dime. Clinicians use the vendor's SmartBucket application to electronically document how many sponges were used in a surgical patient.
After the procedure, they use the vendor's RFID-based SmartWand to scan a patient. The software will alert clinicians if any sponges were left in a patient. The data then can be integrated with a hospital information system.
ClearCount has been beta testing the technology since 2005. It received approval to market the system from the Food and Drug Administration last June.
Another vendor, RF Surgical Systems, Bellevue, Wash., offers a similar RFID system for surgical sponge detection. In addition, SurgiCount Medical, Temecula, Calif., uses bar codes in its sponge detection system.
For more information, go to clearcount.com.
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