Ekahau, VeriChip Hope All Will Receive Xmark

Hospitals across the world using Ekahau’s Wi-Fi enabled real time tracking solutions (RLTS) will benefit from tighter system security after the Finland-based company partnered with VeriChip. As part of the agreement, Ekahau will work alongside Xmark, a VeriChip subsidiary which specialises in RFID-based healthcare security systems. Specifically, the companies will collaborate on providing solutions around asset tracking,infant protection, patient safety and theft prevention in the healthcare industry. Solutions such as wander prevention, perimeter security and campus to bed-level tracking of assets are initial areas of focus for the collaboration. The two companies are also co-operating on an integrated solution that combines RFID and Wi-Fi technologies to suit the particular needs of individual hospitals. Antti Korhonen, president and CEO of Ekahau, told E-Health Europe: “This agreement combines the best wireless solutions available to the healthcare marketplace. “Xmark offers a superior solution for a variety of security applications, while Ekahau has been extremely effective in tracking assets across large hospital campuses. Together we can offer hospitals the technology they need to meet their most urgent needs.” One of the first hospitals to benefit from the partnership will be the Herentals Hospital in Belgium which uses Ekahau’s RTLS to track patients through its operating room complex. A Herentals Hospital spokesperson said: “We believe the two solutions will add a significant new layer of information and support to complement our patient care. “Precision tracking of patients through the operating theatre will enable more efficient throughput and better use of existing resources, which is essential to the running of any modern hospital.”