Securitrac, the manufacturer of security products, has developed Activetrac, a combination of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) and software to deliver a hospital security system.
Nigel Sullivan-Tailyour, Managing Director of Securitrac UK said: ?RFID first appeared in tracking and access applications during the 1980s. Its ability to track moving objects made it the perfect technology for Securitrac when exploring how to extend its security solutions to meet the growing needs of hospitals.? The Activetrac system offers a means of protecting and locating anything from a tagged wheelchair to a patient. Installed on a standard PC, the system, at the click of a button triangulates the location of any tagged item by comparing the signals from several readers throughout the hospital to pinpoint the item. Nurses, Doctors and qdministrators can ask – where is it? – who moved it? and an alarm is set off if an unauthorised person removes a tagged item, or a patient enters a zone where they shouldn’t be. The system is fully configurable with both people and items assigned permission to remove items or move around the hospital from zone to zone depending on the rules set.
Battery life
By using the newly developed low power consumption electronics, the sealed for life Activetrac tags are smaller than before and have a five-year battery life – double that of recent designs. Activetrac is digital aware and compatible with the industry standard Weigand protocol which is used to transmit information from the readers to enable a camera to zoom in on or pan onto the exit where an item is being unofficially removed, then automatically triggering an SMS message to a security person’s mobile phone or flashing a message to a users PC. Activetrac use industry standard CAT5 cabling with RS485 protocol. The receiver is adjustable centrally which reduces time and cost of the installation, the makers say. The triangulation system fixes on the closest reader point to provide greater accuracy of items and real-time asset information. Visit www.securitrac.co.uk
