[10/07/10]
Ekahau recently announced that it is providing a location-based patient and staff tracking solution to Docrates Clinic, a state-of-the-art cancer center in Helsinki. Docrates Clinic is using Ekahau RTLS to manage patient alerts and locate staff over the facility's Cisco Systems Wi-Fi network infrastructure.
"We pride ourselves on being early adopters in our field and want to take advantage of available new methods and solutions to streamline and improve our daily tasks," said Harri Puurunen, managing director of Docrates. "We were looking for a system that allows free movement of our staff members, while guaranteeing that we can contact them in case of an emergency. Ekahau's personal small tags, combined with the fact it easily integrated with our existing wireless network, delivered the best and most flexible solution for us. This solution required no additional infrastructure or proprietary readers, and therefore is very scalable as we grow."
Unlike competing solutions, Ekahau RTLS does not require any additional infrastructure. Instead, Ekahau RTLS utilizes the existing standard Wi-Fi network and consists of Ekahau software and Wi-Fi RFID tags.
Docrates Clinic is using Ekahau RTLS as a nurse call system, through which a nurse can call a doctor or another nurse anywhere in the building with a single push of a button. The Ekahau tag receives real-time information of the sender's whereabouts, including in which department, floor or room, allowing individuals to provide immediate attention to the situation.
Another important application is the patient call system. A patient can call help by pushing a switch on the Ekahau wristband tag. Then the nurse will get the call for help immediately, as well as the exact location of the patient. The patient call capabilities functions anywhere in the clinic campus and allows help to be provided quickly. This RTLS system makes patient care taking more effective. Because the location of patients is known at all times, nurse rounds can be optimized.
"Intelligent networks enable mission-critical functions - such as real-time location, data transfer and communications - to work over one infrastructure. Ekahau solution utilizes this intelligent network and was planned and implemented to be fault tolerant as well as easily scalable to fully support current and future services," said Esa Korvenmaa, managing director of Cisco Systems Finland.
"Network solutions are always planned according to the needs of the client. Critical systems, like Docrates was seeking, have been executed with advanced technology that fits perfectly into the healthcare environment. Only this way, can one guarantee operational reliability and easy maintenance." said Sami Gronberg, managing director of Vintor, the systems integrator working with Docrates.
About Docrates
Docrates is a private clinic that specializes in the diagnosis, treatment and follow-up of cancer. The patient has access to examinations and treatments without delay. The central goal is to guarantee the quality of life of the patient. Docrates Clinic works in cooperation with the pharmaceutical and the biomedical equipment manufacturers in research and development. This cooperation enables us to utilise the newest medications and methods at the right time, for patients' benefit. www.docrates.com
About Cisco Systems
Cisco,, the worldwide leader in networking that transforms how people connect, communicate and collaborate, this year celebrates 25 years of technology innovation, operational excellence and corporate social responsibility. Information about Cisco can be found at www.cisco.com.
About Ekahau Inc.
Ekahau Inc. is the industry leader in providing Wi-Fi-based RTLS solutions. Ekahau's customers, including several Fortune 500 companies worldwide, are realizing the benefits of Wi-Fi based location services and innovative Wi-Fi network planning and optimization tools. Ekahau's solutions are being used in more than 150 hospitals around the world, as well as by manufacturers, mining/oil/gas companies, government agencies and the military. Ekahau partners include wireless software developers, leading system integrators and international OEM partners, who develop and market wireless enterprise applications. Ekahau is a U.S. based corporation, with offices in Saratoga, Calif.; Reston, Va.; Helsinki, Finland; and Hong Kong, China. For more information about Ekahau, please visit www.ekahau.com.
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