ClearCount Medical Solutions announced that it has received approval to affix the CE mark to its RFID-based surgical safety and efficiency technology, the SmartSponge and SmartWand-DTX.
The SmartSponge System is a complete solution that both verifies sponge counts and detects sponges if they remain in the patient. The system is able to provide a double layer of protection because it uniquely identifies each sponge used during surgery.
Using manual procedures, retained surgical items are estimated to occur in one of every 1,500 open abdominal/chest procedures, leading to additional surgeries, unnecessary costs, serious infections and even death.
In 2010, retained surgical items were the leading Sentinel Event reported to the Joint Commission, which accredits hospitals in the United States. The United Kingdom reported nearly 800 missing or retained surgical swabs or instruments in a single year. ![[end]](/resources/bullet/rfidnews-4.gif)
