System Tracks Location of Blood Bank Coolers in Real Time

The technology tracks the location and elapsed time-in-use of the portable coolers that blood banks use to transport blood and blood products to where they are needed throughout the hospital.

This innovative system employs Real-Time Location System (RTLS) technology, and was developed for Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center (Winston-Salem, NC, USA) and launched in August 2010. By tracking the location and elapsed time of coolers and electronically conveying that information to the appropriate personnel, the new system allows staff members to retrieve coolers containing unused blood before their specified time expires, thus greatly reducing the possibility that unused blood may have to be destroyed.

Proprietary RTLS tags are affixed to the exteriors of portable coolers; the tracking system's software displays each cooler's status on a computer monitor. When a cooler's status changes, the system changes the color of that cooler's screen icon and automatically sends an email notice to designated addresses. On the "status board" on the computer monitor, a green icon indicates that a cooler is ready for use. When a full cooler is removed from the blood bank, its icon changes to blue, and its movement is tracked and a timing process is initiated. Fifteen minutes before the cooler reaches its effective time limit, its icon changes to yellow and an email is sent. If a cooler is still out when its effective time expires, the icon turns orange and another message is sent. Fifteen minutes past the cooler's time limit, its icon changes to red, and a final email notice goes out. When the cooler is returned and processed in the blood bank, the system resets its status to "ready for use."

Mary Rose Jones, manager of the blood bank said, "Since adopting the RTLS system last August, the results have been outstanding. We have not lost one cooler in the Medical Center. We also have reduced labor time Blood Bank staff members no longer have to make multiple phone calls in trying to locate coolers and realized considerable dollar savings." Wake Forest Baptist has filed a provisional application for a patent on the tracking system and has formed a company, called Time Temp Trac (Winston-Salem, NC, USA) that will market the system to hospitals and other health care facilities.

Related Links:
Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center
Time Temp Trac