SOURCE: Sonitor Technologies, Inc.
February 20, 2008 09:00 ET
Sonitor® Technologies Launches Semi-Disposable RTLS Patient Tag at HIMSS Conference
Next Generation Tag Utilizes Unique Ultrasound Technology to Provide Automatic Realtime Room and Bed-Level Location Information for Patients and Personnel
LARGO, FL--(Marketwire - February 20, 2008) - Sonitor® Technologies, Inc., the leading
developer, manufacturer and supplier of 100% room-level location or more
accurate ultrasound Indoor Positioning System (IPS) and Real-Time Location
Systems (RTLS), today announced the release of a single patient use, outer
shell cased patient, Active Ultrasound wristband Tag. The patented Active
Ultrasound Tag will be showcased at the Healthcare Information and
Management Systems Society (HIMSS) 2008 Conference, held at the Orange
County Convention Center on February 24 - 28 in Orlando, Florida. Sonitor
will be exhibiting its new releases in Booth# 3815. The new Sonitor Patient
Tag will also be on display at the HIMSS exhibits of several of Sonitor's
solutions partners.
The Tag, named P-Tag, weighing less than an ounce and measuring 1.4x1.5x0.7
inches, is a small battery-powered wireless device, easily attached by
snapping the shell onto any standard patient wristband, or similar band or
lanyard. Protected against possible infectious contamination by the
disposable outer shell, the core is designed for repeated use without the
need for cleaning.
The new generation Tag features provide the following user benefits:
-- A low cost, disposable, single use, waterproof outer shell, which
protects the core against possible infectious contamination.
-- Safe, simple and comfortable attachment of Tag to any standard patient
wristband with snapon solution.
-- A reusable electronics core with circuitry for the Sonitor®
ultrasound-based indoor positioning system (IPS).
-- A special method to safely remove the core, which renders the shell
useless, preventing reuse of a potentially contaminated shell.
-- Long life, disposable batteries pre-installed.
-- Small and discrete size.
"In 2005, there were over 37 million admissions to US hospitals. Using
input from hospital personnel at some of Sonitor's deployment sites, we
developed a low cost Patient-Tag specifically for the different needs of
the healthcare market," said Terry Aasen, CEO of Sonitor Technologies. "The
Tag will -- as part of the Sonitor IPS -- help healthcare facilities all
over the world spend less time searching for patients, improve room and bed
turnover, increase patient throughput in EDs and ORs, and in fact free up
capacity for what's most important, caring for and treating patients. The
Sonitor IPS ultrasound provides 100% room-level and bed-level location
accuracy, which is highly desirable for tracking of association events,
such as a clinician with patient, or a patient with specialty equipment
which is beneficial for patient safety records and can help capture
otherwise lost invoicing events."
"This inexpensive outer shell provides the needed hygienic barrier to
eliminate possible risks of infection which is associated with the reuse of
other RFID and WiFi tracking tags that are only adapted and not
purpose-built for patient use," Dr. Wilfred Booij, Sonitor Technologies'
CTO added.
The P-Tag pilot is underway in a Los Angeles hospital.
The P-Tag transmits its own, unique identification code using ultrasound in
the frequency range 35 to 45 kHz at configurable transmission intervals. A
Sonitor® IPS Detector (microphone) receives and transfers the Tag ID-code
to a server, leveraging the hospital's wired or wireless LAN, which stores
the Tag's location and the time-stamp information in its database. The
tracking information can then be accessed by users on computers, tablet
PCs, PDAs and mobile phones using application software solutions from 3rd
party software applications to which Sonitor is integrated.
To see the new P-Tag and Sonitor's ultrasound Indoor Positioning system and
its products, visit Booth #3815 at HIMSS on February 24 - 28 in Orlando.
For more information on Sonitor and its products visits www.sonitor.com or
contact the sales department at Toll Free: (+1) (877) 477 9767 or
mail.sonitor.com.
About Sonitor Technologies, Inc.
Sonitor Technologies is the developer, manufacturer and supplier of a
proprietary ultrasound indoor positioning system (IPS) that automatically
tracks with reliable 100% room-level or better accuracy the real-time
location of moveable equipment and people in complex indoor environments,
such as hospitals. Sonitor Technologies' RTLS technology is designed for
seamless integration with third party software and integration solutions.
Sonitor Technologies was founded in Norway in 1997. To learn more about
Sonitor Technologies and its ultrasound IPS, please visit the corporate
website at www.sonitor.com.
Safe Harbor Statement -- This press release contains forward-looking
statements relating to future events, such as the development of new
products, the commencement of production, or the future financial
performance of the Company. These statements fall within the meaning of
forward-looking information as defined in the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995. These statements are subject to a number of important
risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ
materially including, but not limited to, economic, competitive,
governmental, and technological factors affecting the Company's markets and
market growth rates, products and their rate of commercialization,
services, prices and adequacy of financing, and other factors. The Company
undertakes no obligation to update, amend, or clarify forward-looking
statements, whether because of new information, future events, or
otherwise.
Sonitor is a registered trademark of Sonitor Technologies AS, Norway