Medical devices manufacturer Implanet says it has selected IBM sensor technology as the foundation for its new 'BeepN'Track' service that tracks movement of products, such as knee and hip implants, across its supply chain. Spiralling medical costs and growing demand for medical care are presenting the health care industry with new challenges, explains Erick Cloix, chief executive officer at Implanet.
Hence Implanet's decision to imbue its operations with new intelligence to reduce the costs associated with human error, out-of-stock products, and supply chain inefficiencies.
"We do not want to focus on our commodity product – the implant itself – but on a complete solution, which makes the product smart and thus creates a new generation of medical solutions," says Cloix.
Hence, BeepN'Track uses RFID tags to trace products, and before surgical procedures, hospitals use handheld devices to scan the, and store the information along with the patient's records. Tags are given to patients after surgery so they have all information concerning their implants.
Information stored on the tags is then gathered by IBM's WebSphere Sensor Events software and transmitted to Big Blue's InfoSphere Traceability Server software. This allows Implanet to manage and share information with the systems of partners using GS1 EPCglobal's electronic product code for capturing and sharing sensor data.
"With IBM's health care industry knowledge and its technology expertise, this initiative is opening up the whole international market to us," declares Cloix.
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