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Pango Networks Inc. announced Tuesday the launch of a new Web-based framework that can let hospitals know where expensive pieces of equipment are at any time.
The framework accepts RFID and other signals onto standards-based networks such as Wi-Fi.
Though currently used to track assets in only about one in 10 health care organizations, this use of RFID is expected to rise nearly 500 percent over the next 18 months, according to a market study by SpyGlass Consulting.
However, adoption is slowed because some applications require dedicated networks and difficult-to-integrate software.
Pango Locator, a Wi-Fi-based tracking application has a Notifier tool that allows pieces of equipment to send alerts to the network based on a devices motion and status.
In addition, the location of nearly any device that hooks into the network can be tracked without an RFID tag.
The new Web-based Pango platform can translate disparate location systems into a common language and use input from multiple sources to pinpoint an assets location.
“What weve done is develop the capability to normalize different sources of input and pull in different systems,” said Richard Barnwell, Pangos CTO.
The technology also plugs in readily to any existing legacy systems that hospitals use to track assets, said Michael Campbell, EVP of business development for Pango.
“Pango doesnt do asset management, we just make the asset location-aware,” he said.