August 25, 2009
St. Vincent Employs Sponge Detector
By Matthew L. Brown
Saint Vincent Hospital in Worcester has started using a device designed to detect surgical sponges left inside patients after surgery.
The RF Surgical Detection System is used by about 100 hospitals nationwide and employs a scanning wand to detect radio frequency tagged sponges.
According to RF Surgical Systems Inc., the manufacturer of the device, surgical objects are left in patients in one out of every 5,000 to 6,000 open cavity surgeries.
Bringing the RF device to St. Vincent is part of the hospital's patient safety initiative announced earlier this year. The hospital said the RF system would be used in all surgical areas. The device costs less than $15 per surgery, the hospital said.
WBJ Web Partners
Most Recent
Most Recent
0 Comments