Profile on Philips RFID Solution
This story in RFID Journal describes Philips Medical Systems' RFID solution. Philips teamed up with AeroScout, using their tags and positioning engine software. Here's an overview of the solution:
institutions manage their staff, patient care, assets and operations,
the system has been integrated with real-time location system (RTLS) hardware and software from San Mateo, Calif.-based RTLS specialist AeroScout.
The RTLS system includes AeroScout T2 active RFID tags; AeroScout
Exciters, which activate the tags to transmit their ID numbers, thus
providing location information whenever tags pass by their locations;
and AeroScout Engine, a software component that calculates tag locations by processing data from Wi-Fi access points and the active
tags. AeroScout's MobileView software associates each tag's ID with the
corresponding device, while also collecting and storing location data.
The MobileView software can also portray location information on a map,
or in a table or report format.
I'll be talking to both Philips and AeroScout at HIMSS about their joint solution. Pictured right is an AeroScout tag.
Philips IntelleVue Supports 802.11a/g
I was talking with someone in the industry who pointed me to this PDF file on Philips Medical Systems' web site. This electronic brochure for Philips' IntelliVue Telemetry System was remarkable for the use of the 2.4GHz band (still DECT though). My curiosity aroused, I looked further and found this PDF, touting the IntelleVue 802.11a/g infrastructure.
No, according to the Philips marketing manager I spoke with, they are not going to be among the many vendors to announce 802.11a support at HIMSS next week. These are their products for the ROW – that's “rest of world” in vendor lingo, or ABH “anywhere but here” for those who don't want to buy a separate and proprietary wireless infrastructure just for your patient monitors. Since other countries don't have dedicated frequency bands for medical telemetry, Philips must use other frequencies for their patient monitors. And yet, the following text is interesting:
Hmmm.
Philips Brings Decision Support to IntelliVue Patient Monitors
The other day Health Data Management had an intriguing little story about some decision support software that presents user defined care protocols on Philips Medical Systems' Intellivue patient monitors. There's really not much more in the four sentence story. The story offers a couple links, to the home pages of PMS and Surviving Sepsis advocacy group – neither with a link to relevant ProtocolWatch information.
Poking around, I came across this page on the PMS site (and nothing on the Surviving Sepsis site). Apparently posted on February 14 with no associated press release, Philips offers much more about their new solution. Here's how it works:
with ProtocolWatch, ProtocolWatch automatically screens his or her
vital signs data in the background. When a parameter meets or exceeds
the criterion established for the definition of severe sepsis, a
ProtocolWatch window appears on the monitor screen. This window prompts
clinicians to check for other signs of sepsis not directly measured by
the monitor. If no other signs are present, ProtocolWatch resumes
screening. But if the patient meets two or more of the criteria,
ProtocolWatch starts the Sepsis Resuscitation Bundle.
In my recent article on Trends in Alarm Notification, applications like ProtocolWatch were discussed. One difference between those solutions and Philips is that Philips' is apparently a proprietary end-to-end solution.
ProtocolWatch only works with Philip's highest-end critical care monitors, the MP60 and up ($30,000 to $40,000 and up per monitor). The software appears to be sold directly by Philips, but no word on who developed the software. If the software is interfaced with other clinical information systems (results reporting and orders, for example) that capability is not mentioned.
You can be sure that I'll be looking for this in the Philips booth at HIMSS. Pictured right is a sample screen of the ProtocolWatch overlay on a patient monitor display. Click here for a larger version.
