RF Surgical Systems has announced that its RF Assure Detection System has been implemented in all surgical suites by the University of North Carolina Hospitals. The detection system uses evidence-based RF detection technology to detect the presence of retained surgical items (RSIs) inside a patient after the surgery.
RF Assure Detection Ssytem. Credit: RF Surgical Systems
The RF Assure detection system serves as an adjunct to the AORN standard protocol and provides counting verification. It eliminates secondary counting procedures and improves patient safety. Once activated, a detection mat placed under the patient scans the surgical site and if any material or tool remains inside the body, it alerts the operating room staff.
A surgeon at UNC Hospitals, Dr Christopher Clarence Rupp stated that the RF Assure Detection System ensures optimum safety for patient care in the facility by eliminating errors. The procedure also prevents the cost and time incurred for taking X-rays and repeating the surgeries. Furthermore, the system reduces anesthesia time.
The hospital staff also took part in a multi-center study centered on the usage of medical technology in order to detect surgical objects and prevent their retention inside the body of the patient. The conclusions drawn from the study highlighted that the RF detection technology helps reduce the dependency on radiation in order to detect missing sponges. Regardless of the correct manual counts, RSIs do occur and nursing staff report that in majority of the operations, RF detection provides reduced stress during closure of the wound.
The Chairman of RF Surgical, Dr Jeffrey Port stated that adjunctive technology is vital to ensure the prevention of RSIs and helps reduce the incidence to zero.