I have two customer discussions going on at the moment – both require real time asset tracking, one is looking at a WiFi solution (plus software and appropriate tags) and the other is looking at a tag-centric solution with it’s own radio network running alongside their WiFi (concerned about traffic). Aside from the cost differences – what does the group think about the perceived “competition” between these two approaches. No plugs for your own company’s solutions please ! – objectivity appreciated.

The thread is very lively, with folks from different camps (and manufacturers) defending their point of view. As respectful as the tone is here, there is a bit high tech mud slinging going on here that is telling regarding the state of the industry. All too often when talking to customers, the conversation starts with infrastructure. And the predominant marketing messaging out there is that the infrastructure is the solution. This can be pretty dangerous thinking.

In fairness to Shoalib, his query was specific to RTLS from an infrastructure perspective, so it’s fair that the thread is about infrastructure. As we work with customers we often find that technology buyers all too often want to boil it down to A or B. I would suggest that by not focusing on broader applications and “solutions,” the industry has seriously confused and kept away customers through slugfests like this. Overall adoption rate is nowhere any of us expected it to be at this point. Why is that? As some of the folks in thread suggest, there has been lots of over promising going on, and the technology needed to improve. But in spite of the improvements, the reality is that infrastructure alone will not deliver the results that customers are looking for when purchasing an visibility solution. One of the responders, Trish Messiter, smartly tries to reel all this in by suggesting:

The real question here is what is best for requirements? The answer, unfortunately, is “it depends.”

I’m with Trish on this one. While everyone is piling on regarding whether WiFi is a good solution or not, we don’t really get to hear what Shoalib’s customer is trying to accomplish, nor do we have a good enough understanding of the environment. In many cases, WiFi will make sense, or the infrastructure may be a hybrid one, with a location engine listening to different types of sensors used for different purposes.

TPC Healthcare today announced that it has signed an agreement with CenTrak Inc., to provide integrated tracking and workflow automation solutions to healthcare facilities. TPC Healthcare will utilize CenTrak’�s patented InTouchCare, a hybrid technology that combines a new generation of Infrared and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) to track people and equipment to a room and individual bay. CenTrak developed InTouchCare™ technology to provide a “location-certainty” by overcoming the inaccuracies of “location-estimation” hindered by issues of RF penetration of walls, ceilings and floors.

Room and sub-room level Accuracy with Certainty
CenTrak patient and equipment tags use Gen2IR™ infrared light signals which cannot penetrate walls to accurately locate people and movable medical equipment to a specific room. The active-RFID component is used to communicate the location information back to the network for maximum tag capacity and a fast response time. In this way, CenTrak provides room and sub-room level accuracy with certainty, not based on an estimate. Installation of a CenTrak InTouchCare network is simplified by using battery-powered components which eliminate wiring and offer plug-and-play installation functionality. With RF and Infrared operating simultaneously, the sensors can operate continuously for up to five years on a set of batteries.

CenTrak developed InTouchCare™ technology to provide a “location-certainty” by overcoming the inaccuracies of “location-estimation” hindered by issues of RF penetration of walls, ceilings and floors. CenTrak patient and equipment tags use Gen2IR™ infrared light signals which cannot penetrate walls to accurately locate people and movable medical equipment to a specific room. The active-RFID component is used to communicate the location information back to the network for maximum tag capacity and a fast response time. In this way, CenTrak provides room and sub-room level accuracy with certainty, not based on an estimate.

High-level precision, Excellent battery life and Low cost of Installation
TPC Healthcare will integrate the Centrak infrastructure with software applications that meet the specific needs of the customer. “Centrak has hit the value intersection in RTLS by providing an infrastructure the combines high-level precision, excellent battery life and low cost of installation. Used in combination with the right application software, TPC Healthcare can offer healthcare customers a software platform that can start as a simple tracking solution and grow into a sophisticated location-aware workflow automation solution,” states Kenny Schiff, TPC Healthcare Managing Director.

About CenTrak
CenTrak is a leading provider of precise, adaptable, and cost-effective tracking solutions for healthcare facilities. The patented InTouchCare™ Real Time Location System (RTLS) infrastructure uniquely combines Gen2IR and active RFID technologies to deliver certainty-based or error free data, a requirement for workflow and other important applications. As the only predominantly battery-powered RTLS network, CenTrak has attained an ease and cost effective level of installation previously unattainable. InTouchCare is currently operating in millions of square feet at several world-class healthcare sites in the United States. For more information about CenTrak, please visit www.centrak.com.

About TPC Healthcare
Headquartered in Stratford, Connecticut, TPC Healthcare provides point-of-care communication technologies, such as wireless voice, alarm notification, and workflow automation, to hospitals and healthcare organizations in the New England and Mid-Atlantic regions. TPC Healthcare’s unique blend of technology expertise, exceptional service, and years of experience successfully delivering point-of-care solutions help hospitals and healthcare organizations improve clinical workflow, increase patient safety, and provide better utilization of patient care equipment. For more information about TPC Healthcare and/or its services, call 888.427.2215 or visit www.tpchealthcare.com.