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Handheld Bar Code Scanners and Wireless Communications in healthcare Environments
Overview
Wireless Technology
Healthcare Adoption
Increased technology use, coupled
with the drive to implement Electronic
Health Records (ERH), has greatly
increased the number of wireless
devices in hospitals and other
healthcare facilities. Bluetooth®
wireless technology is an option
on various medical and consumer
devices, including telephone headsets,
printers, tablet computers, hospital
diagnostic equipment and handheld
bar code scanners. The potential
for interference keeps growing as
more wireless devices crowd shortrange radio frequencies in healthcare
facilities. To prevent interference,
signal separation is the answer. For
handheld bar code scanners used
in patient point-of-care, a dedicated
wireless radio band that operates
outside of the spectrum shared
by WiFi and Bluetooth® wireless
technology is the safest, most secure
and easiest route to uninterrupted
transmissions.
Wireless technology revolutionized
wireless communications by making it
possible to connect different devices
in close proximity. Bluetooth® wireless
technology was developed in the
1990’s to link personal consumer
devices such as cell phones and
wireless headsets, it has become
the short-range communications
standard for interconnectivity, linking
smartphones to headsets, printers
to laptops, garage doors to cars, as
well as a fast-expanding universe of
wireless medical devices.
In 2003, the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) approved
the first medical device using
Bluetooth® wireless technology. Since
then, the technology has become
commonplace within hospital walls.
This wireless technology is available
on stethoscopes, defibrillators,
pacemakers, wristband scanners,
heart rate, pulse and glucose monitors,
and even surgical instruments.
Bluetooth® wireless technology is
everywhere; it is used by printers,
wireless keyboards and mice,
headsets, speakers, MP3 players,
GPS devices and watches – just
about anything that can use a radio
transmitter.
By 2011, more than 40 million medical
devices had Bluetooth® wireless
technology capability. Such devices
include bar code scanners connected
to hospital systems that read patient
wristbands, prescription drug labels
and other items associated with
patient care. Any interference with this
process can impact the quality of care
and potentially lead to life-threatening
situations that healthcare providers
want to avoid at all costs.
Bluetooth® Wireless Technology
Drawbacks
Despite its benefits, Bluetooth®
wireless technology has some
significant drawbacks, including its
relatively short range of up to 30 feet.
A more recent version of the standard,
called Bluetooth Class 1, offers ranges
exceeding 300 feet, but most devices
are still in the 30-foot range.
Security is a serious concern.
Bluetooth® wireless technology is
relatively secure, but with confidential
patient records being transmitted
wirelessly within hospital walls,
the potential for hacking and
impersonation is real.
Another disadvantage is connectivity.
A Bluetooth® wireless technology
host device is limited to seven device
connections.
The biggest cause for concern,
however, is the potential for
interference with other wireless
equipment tapping the same radio
bands. In a hospital setting, this is
clearly undesirable and potentially
harmful. Bluetooth® wireless
technology devices operate in a band
shared with WiFi transmissions from
the myriad of wireless devices in
use; this leads to the potential for
communications collisions that create
interference. As a result, the integrity
of communications – its speed and
reliability – seriously declines. In cases
where Bluetooth® wireless technology
and WiFi signals collide, Bluetooth®
wireless technology equipment can
monopolize bandwidth, elbowing
out other signals. This will impact all
the devices in the area and can halt
communications completely.
Researchers have been studying
the potential for wireless signal
interference in hospitals, particularly
in the operating room. Results are
mixed; there is evidence that multiple
wireless devices in close proximity can
cause problems. Medical equipment
is going wireless, while hospital staff
is carrying smartphones, laptops and
tablets, both for patient care and
personnel use. These devices usually
share the same wireless bands that
visitors and patients tap into with
their own smartphones and tablets.
Even in facilities with posted policies
to turn off personal devices, it’s
difficult to control use by visitors.
“Wireless coexistence is not automatic,
and every possible precaution should
be made to ensure the safety and
security of patients,” according to a
June 2011 article in the biomedical
engineering journal Bentham Open,
titled “Wireless Coexistence and EMC
of Bluetooth and 802.11b Devices
in Controlled Laboratory Settings.”
Precautions prescribed by the article
include testing the coexistence of
Bluetooth® wireless technology and
WiFi signals before deploying lifecritical devices.
Patient Care Effects
One of the most prevalent uses of
wireless technology is in the use
of handheld bar code scanners at
the point-of-care to verify patient
identification and prescribed care.
Hospitals are installing wireless
scanners at nurse’s stations, in patient
rooms, laboratories, radiology areas
and more. Hospital systems require
the patient wristband be scanned
prior to administration of a service
or prescription drug to validate the
patient and the service or drug.
Signal interference can be a real
problem when scanners are used to
read patient wristband information to
administer medication. Increasingly,
medical facilities lock patient
medication in electronically controlled
mobile carts that don’t open until
they get a release signal from the
wristband scanner. This minimizes
errors and drug misuse. If the scanner
signal is delayed or interrupted
because of collision with other devices,
the medication cannot be dispensed,
potentially putting the patient at risk.
Solving Wireless Technology
Problems
The potential for signal collision
between Bluetooth® wireless
technology medical devices and
other wireless equipment makes it
imperative for hospitals and clinics
to find a wireless alternative. There
is no singular solution that will fit
for every application. There is too
much flexibly regarding the types of
equipment and applications that need
to be considered. But applications of
handheld scanning do have a viable
solution.
Healthcare providers increasingly
rely on bar code scanners to capture
critical data stored in patient
wristbands, medical charts and
medication containers. Scanners
capture data fast and accurately,
making them essential to healthcare
providers. It is imperative, therefore
that these scanners operate on
a separate, secure dedicated
communication stream without signal
competition from Bluetooth® wireless
technology and WiFi equipment.
built with specifications directed at
hospital environments that include
disinfectant-ready enclosures
manufactured with anti-microbial
materials to help guard against germs
and bacteria. Gryphon™ Healthcare
Series scanners are available with the
STAR Cordless System™, a narrowband wireless communications system
that operates outside the crowded
Bluetooth® wireless technology
and WiFi spectrum for real-time
communications and mobility.
A dedicated radio band is a safe,
secure and easy way to connect
scanners employed in patient care.
Such an approach offers pre-set
standards and protocols that the
technicians who deploy and run the
scanners know and understand.
Dedicated communication streams
outside of crowded frequency bands
bring reliable, effective real-time
communications to healthcare
facilities.
With the STAR Cordless System™,
Gryphon™ scanners use a secure
narrow band that offers significant
advantages over Bluetooth® wireless
technology equipped units. Topping
the list is the resistance to radio band
‘noise’, avoiding interference from
the crowded Bluetooth® wireless
technology and WiFi Bands. Depending
on country-specific regulations,
the STAR Cordless System™ uses
either the 433 MHz or 910 MHz radio
frequencies.
Datalogic’s STAR Cordless
System™
Other advantages of STAR Cordless
System™ include the following:
Datalogic is a worldwide leader in
bar code technology, manufacturing
products specifically designed
to function in the healthcare
environment. Datalogic’s Gryphon™
Healthcare Series of scanners are
•
•
Exponentially greater network
capacity: Hundreds of devices can
connect simultaneously
Well-established standards, as
opposed to the still-evolving
Bluetooth® standard
•
Proprietary technology, giving
network owners total control
Ambient propagation: Signals are
less sensitive to blocking than
Bluetooth® wireless technology
Conclusion
Bluetooth® wireless technology
equipped devices have become
commonplace in the healthcare
industry. As a result of wireless device
proliferation, radio bands in hospitals
and clinics are getting crowded.
This crowding is potentially causing
interference for equipment relying
on wireless communications used in
time-critical patient care.
In applications of handheld bar code
scanning, where cordless freedom
dictates wireless communications,
the Datalogic STAR Cordless System™,
available on the Gryphon Healthcare
Series of scanners provides security,
flexibility and immunity from
communication problems caused
by crowded radio bands. Gryphon™
handheld scanners with the
Datalogic STAR Cordless System™ and
healthcare specific features are the
perfect solution for hospital handheld
bar code data collection.
© 2013 Datalogic ADC, Inc. • All rights reserved. • Protected to the fullest extent under U.S. and international laws. • Copying, or altering of this document is prohibited
without express written consent from Datalogic ADC, Inc.
Datalogic and the Datalogic logo are registered trademarks of Datalogic S.p.A. in many countries, including the U.S. and the E.U. • Datalogic STAR Cordless System is a
trademark of Datalogic Scanning Group S.r.l. • Gryphon is a registered trademark of Datalogic ADC, Inc. • The Bluetooth word mark and logos are owned by the Bluetooth
SIG, Inc. and any use of such marks by Datalogic ADC, Inc. is under license. • All other brand and product names are trademarks of their respective owners.
Reasonable measures were taken to ensure that the information provided is complete and accurate at the time of publication. • Datalogic ADC is not responsible for errors
of omission or inaccuracies, as material becomes dated shortly following publication. Product specifications are subject to change without notice.
WP-WIRELESSCOMMUNICATIONSINHC-EN
Revision A 20130514