Asset tracking at Region Midt in Skejby
Sterile instruments delivered on time – for every operation at the university hospital.
Lives are at stake in hospital operating theatres – and full control of the sterile instruments used in surgical procedures is essential. It must be possible to track the location of every single item at all times to ensure both uncompromising hygiene and efficient logistics when handling the large volume of operations. Region Midt uses RFID tags to collect data for asset tracking, ensuring complete oversight of all surgical trolleys.
The extensive data collection also enables better asset management and a wide range of optimisations based on analyses of patterns and trends in the data.
Challenge
At the university hospital in Skejby, it is expected that around 300 to 400 operations will be carried out every day. Every operation requires sterile instruments and supplies – and all of it must be transported and delivered so it is available at the right place at the right time. This means handling approximately 500 sterile surgical trolleys with equipment every single day.
The sterile project, which is part of the large hospital programme, provides the IT needed to support the handling of sterilisation processes, packing and logistics related to booking instruments, transporting the required items and, not least, tracking and maintaining the history of equipment and instruments. It is absolutely crucial that the sterile condition is never compromised, and that all equipment is available when needed for surgery.
Solution
When an operation is scheduled, the required instrument set is booked in the IT system, and this triggers the flow that ensures the instruments are correctly sterilised, dispatched and transported to the right place at the right time.
All elements (both people and equipment) moving around the hospital are fitted with RFID tags, and 4,400 sensors have been installed throughout the corridors, each scanning its surroundings several times per second. The RFID tags allow the central system to provide a precise, real‑time overview of where the equipment is located, both in relation to the sterilisation process and its physical position.
In addition to ensuring that the right equipment is sterile and arrives on time for the correct operation, the large volumes of data can be used for many other purposes that help optimise processes and improve efficiency. For example, it is possible to view the history of a specific trolley used to transport equipment, which can be used for preventive maintenance: the trolley may need new wheels if it has covered many kilometres. Historical data for the different instrument sets can also be used to trace potential issues with patient infections in the event that sterilisation has been insufficient.
Result
The system is in operation and manages the logistics around instruments and equipment, and there are plans to optimise further by taking advantage of the opportunities made possible through digitalisation. For example, there are considerations around automating the control of when a transport trolley needs to be re‑sterilised, depending on which environments it has been in and for how long. It is expected that the collected data can be used in many more ways – the ideas are lining up, simply waiting to be realised…
kaastrup|andersen has been responsible for the IT architecture work in the sterile project.
