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SurgiCount Medical reports that over 6 million of its non RFID-based 'safety-sponges' have been used in over 200,000 surgical procedures without a single 'retained sponge' incident being reported.
The average incidence of a retained sponge during surgery is somewhere between 1-in-1,500 to 1-in-9,000 procedures. The benefits of computer-assisted sponge counting are increasing the popularity and acceptance of systems such as the company's own Safety-Sponge System, which has been independently studied and proven to reduce retained sponge incidents.
As a non-RFID product, there are no interference issues such as those recently published by JAMA, and the costs are also low. Interestingly, 1st October 2008 also marked the end of both the US government's and many insurance companies' reimbursement of costs associated with additional surgery required to remove retained sponges.
"In today's environment the burden of proof rests with the medical institution to not just deliver a higher standard of care but to prove it by showing evidence of successful outcomes," warned Bill Adams, CEO for SurgiCount Medical.
The company's Safety-Sponge System comprises three main parts:
- A line of uniquely identifiable surgical sponges and towels;
- Touch-screen scanning devices (called 'SurgiCounters');
- A networked database (known as 'Citadel') that permits the complete review, management and analysis of the count reports generated.
Source: SurgiCount Medical Inc.
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