Comments on: Using Zigbee Mesh Networks, Awarepoint Ready to Catch Wave of Healthcare Innovation

By: jay g

jay g — Mon, 04 May 2009 22:32:04 +0000

In my experience with RFID tracking of documents, and the failure rate is too high when considering the value proposition of the technology (read: the price is too high for something that can fail 25% of the time). Especially considering that some of these items we’re talking about in Materiel Management are worth thousands, tens of thousands, or hundreds of thousands of dollars. It’s also a passive process, so there’s no deterrent factor when considering theft or mismanagement. The Balboa Hospital experiement in San Diego is a good example of how not to roll out such a plan. UCSD may be doing a better job with their soft start over the past few years. What about not using cell phones in hospitals? …this is related technology…

By: Randy Ladd

Randy Ladd — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 02:02:45 +0000

Too bad it doesn’t work that well. At best it is about 50% to 70% accurate in telling you what room something is in. So-so for tracking equipment and unacceptable for tracking people. Remember, Zigbee is just another frequency of radio waves, like Wi-Fi.

By: Scott LaFee

Scott LaFee — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 16:09:30 +0000

I am not involved in the medical industry, but have an interest, both as an observer and (hopefully no time soon) as a patient. I found this story quite interesting and informative. Kudos to Mr. Bigelow.