ClearCount Medical Solutions, a Pittsburgh-based provider of patient safety products for the operating room, has closed its $5 million series B financing round.

The company intends to use the funds to further research and development of its RFID-based solutions for operating rooms. ClearCount has already developed the first FDA-cleared sponge counting and detection solution. 

SmartMetric, a developer of portable biometric solutions, has announced that its biometric activated data card can now be used to contain full medical history and health records on the individual. The card, called the SmartMetric Data Card, is a standard sized card that has the capability of holding multiple pages of data as well as being inaccessible without the holder first scanning his fingerprint on the card itself.

Colin Hendrick, CEO and president of SmartMetric, has stated that the company is in negotiations to various corporations to have their card rolled out and in use soon.  

HID Global announced an extension of its secure access and identification solutions to secure print authentication. The company is partnering with multi-function printer manufacturers and their application partners to develop secure print authentication solutions that enable HID Global customers to use iClass credentials on printers to reduce print costs and increase security and compliance.

The program extends an organization’s existing security investment to incorporate multi-function printer solutions by using HID Global readers as well as HID Prox and iCLASS cards. By enabling employees to print documents when they have been authenticated to the device with their HID credentials, companies can reduce the amount of paper, toner and electricity used on a daily basis, saving money and helping reduce printing-related waste. 

Aethon announced recently that it’s automated tracking and chain-of-custody system - MedEx - is now operational at the University of Maryland Medical Center.

The MedEx System serves as enhancement to the TUG robot, also developed by Aethon, and allows hospital pharmacies to know the real-time location and status of medications throughout the facility. Combining passive RFID technology and biometrics capabilities built into the TUG secure carts, MedEx automatically creates an electronic chain-of-custody receipt including the person, location, and date/time indicating when an item is placed in and removed from the TUG. 

GuardRFID, provider of RFID-based technologies for real time tracking in the health care industry, announced that it has joined the DASH7 Alliance, a coalition of organizations promoting the advanced development of the ISO 18000-7 (DASH7) standard for wireless sensor networks.

As a developer of active RFID technology and solutions for real time locating systems and security applications in the 433MHz radio frequency band, GuardRFID will join and work with more than 50 companies around the world. 

SimplexGrinnell and GuardRFID have executed a distribution agreement that formally provides SimplexGrinnell access to GuardRFID’s products and solutions.

This new relationship will allow SimplexGrinnell to expand offerings to its health care customers. It will enable them to offer features such as GuardRFID’s TotGaurd system, and the wander prevention and asset locating systems to more healthcare facilities.

TotGaurd is a RFID-based locating system that is used to monitor newborn patients. It consists of small dual-tamper sensing ankle/wristband tags that feature customizable alerts and alarms to provide enhanced infant security. Also, they are disposable to counter biohazard concerns.  

The Methodist Healthcare System in San Antonio, Texas has implemented an RFID-based asset tracking software in five of its hospitals, according to Health Data Management.

The hospitals will use RadarFind to locate and monitor more than 15,000 pieces of medical equipment, including infusion pumps, compression devices and wheelchairs. The hospitals also have begun planning to track patients in specific areas, such as emergency departments, surgical suites and outpatient facilities.