RFID tags for surgical instruments

Tag for instruments

Developed and patented by Synergy Tecnologia for the individual identification of surgical instruments.

• UHF RAIN RFID Gen2 technology, with 96 bits of EPC memory
• Dimensions: 5 mm x 1.8 mm x 1.3 mm
• Read range from 10 cm to 3 m, depending on the instrument type
• Does not come off the instrument
• Proven to withstand more than 1500 autoclave cycles at 134 °C, plus ultrasound, thermal disinfection and Sterrad

• Fast, contactless reading

  Reading faster than Datamatrix, with no contact or line of sight. One study measured 64 s versus 190 s for 41 instruments.

• Does not come off

  Patent on the tag and on the method of applying it to the instrument, so that it does not come off. It reduces the risk of a retained foreign object.

• Open and video-assisted surgery

  Compatible with both kinds of instruments.

• Applied at the hospital itself

  No instruments leave the institution: no transport cost and no surgeries canceled to apply the tags.

Identified baskets

The baskets that carry instruments through the washer and the sterilizer also carry a tag. The basket is identified with the load, and the instruments are read one by one, laid on a non-metallic table.

Tests and durability

The tags go through laboratory tests, including a compression test and an accelerated corrosion and aging test on specimens with tags.

Proven durability goes beyond 1500 autoclave cycles at 134 °C, and the tags withstand ultrasound, thermal disinfection and Sterrad.

Instruments with tags