Novo Surgical unveiled its first-generation of RFID-enabled surgical instrument prototypes at IAHCSMM 2017 in Nashville, Tennessee. The prototypes are the result of month-long research and development efforts by Novo Surgical’s engineering and quality control teams, and using patented Xerafy RFID technology.
“We’re excited to present our first-generation of smart instruments developed in collaboration with Xerafy,” said Abed Moiduddin, Vice-President of Business Development at Novo Surgical. “Novo customers have demonstrated a strong interest in these next-generation devices, and while our development efforts are ongoing, we couldn’t be happier than to partner with Xerafy, a pioneer in RFID technologies for healthcare environments.”
Michel Gillmann, Xerafy’s Director for Product & Marketing, adds, “Our development cooperation with Novo Surgical is a significant step towards our vision of seamless tracking in healthcare. By integrating Xerafy’s technology into the very design of instruments, Novo Surgical is transforming ‘next’ into ‘now’.”
Xerafy developed and validated its medical-grade RFID technology over the years with UHF RFID tags and the design-in concept for surgical instruments — both patented by Xerafy. Following the deployment of RFID-enabled surgical instrument tracking, Rigshospitalet in Denmark estimated it saved 31,000 hours a year in OR procedures alone.
RFID tracking comes with unique capabilities and benefits, compared to procedures such as manual surgical counts or visual identification systems, making it the new standard for hospitals. From automated tracking and tracing that reduces errors and avoids loss of equipment, to storing large amounts of user data like instrument location, history, and sterilization, RFID and “smart” instruments result in reduced errors, decreased loss of surgical instruments, increased visibility and efficiency, superior demand forecasting and ultimately improved patient outcomes.
Xerafy is a pioneer in Industrial RFID, bringing to market several innovations that enable advanced industrial identification and automation capabilities.
In addition to a complete range of field-proven RFID tags available off-the-shelf, Xerafy offers Custom RFID Tags services, covering everything from a personalization service bureau to custom-design engineering capabilities.
