SmartSponge

Retained sponge incidents jeopardize hospital reputation and cause catastrophes for staff and patients. Today, one in every 1,000 to 1,500 intra-abdominal surgeries results in a sponge left behind in the patient. The SmartSponge System, the only RFID-based system currently on the market, has multiple components that interact with the RFID tags in its sponges.
An RFID tag smaller than a dime is securely embedded in each sponge to provide unique identification of the sponge, as well as other information about the sponge such as size, type, etc. As sponges come out of the field, they can go directly into the SmartBucket one at a time or in larger quantities. The SmartBucket quickly sorts and counts any combination of different sponge sizes and types that are discarded simultaneously.
Following the surgical procedure, the counts are reconciled. If there is a discrepancy in counts, the patient is then scanned with the SmartWand which quickly identifies any remaining sponges. A green light on the SmartWand handle confirms the wand is reading all the way through the patient to the surgical table. A red light illuminates if a sponge has been detected. Visual and audible notification is also provided on the display screen of the SmartBucket as well.
After all sponges are accounted for, the user retrieves a final report that can be printed automatically or sent to the hospital’s medical records system.