The device was used in a clinical trial involving cancer patients at the Halifax Health Medical Center; 95 per cent of the patients involved in the study found the device easy to use and they were better able to control the pain by using it rather than relying on nurses to provide the pills. Almost 84 per cent of the nurses involved in the study said it saved them time.
Commenting on the initiative, Ron Carney, CEO, Bartronics America Inc., said, “The healthcare vertical provides immense scope for Bartronics to deliver similar path-breaking solutions.”
During the programming process, the data on a patient’s oral medication prescription dosage and frequency is entered. Every nurse carries a personal identification card, which is again based on RFID technology. In response to reading the card, the body of the Medication-on-Demand (MoD) device allows the nurse to remove an empty pill tray or insert a full one. When the patient holds the wristband up to the device, he selects the number on a sliding dial to indicate the pain level, on a scale of 1 to 10. This prompts the MoD to dispense pain medication.
Bartronics supplies the wristbands based on a patented design that integrates an RFID inlay antenna into the wristband’s clasp. Once it is secured onto a person’s wrist, the only way to remove the wristband is to cut it open, breaking the linkage between the inlay’s antenna and its RFID chip. This ensures that if a patient removes the wristband, no one else – another patient, for instance, or a hospital staff member – can use it to access the pain medication within the MOD. It’s the RFID technology that provides the security for the device.
According to Sudhir Rao, MD, Bartronics India Limited, “Besides healthcare, the company’s focus on the leisure and entertainment space, the transportation sector and the education sector offer a $2 billion opportunity for Bartronics in the coming years.” |
