The SAFETY-SPONGE™ System works much like a grocery store checkout process. Every surgical sponge and towel is affixed with an inseparable two-dimensional data matrix-bar code, and our SurgiCounter is used to scan and record the sponges during the initial and final counts. Because each sponge is identified with a unique code, the SurgiCounter will not allow the same sponge to be counted more than once. When counts have been completed at the end of a procedure, the practitioner can print patient-specific reports, or download information into the Citadel database for easy review and for integration with the institution’s MIS system.

Studies prove that there is no profile of whom retained items can happen to. RF Surgical and Medline recommend profiling patients by utilizing the disposable wands only in cases where the counts have been incorrect or in certain “high risk” procedures, with the side benefit of keeping the per procedure cost down. SurgiCount believes that any adjunct technology must be used on all patients and every procedure since retained sponges occur in all procedures, even breast biopsies. A complete deployment is in accordance with the Joint Commission mandate that “identified processes be implemented across the services” as well with good practices.

The SurgiCount SAFETY-SPONGE™ System was designed specifically with perioperative nurses in mind. During a procedure the system allows circulating nurses to begin the count out procedure on their own schedules and allows a scrub nurse to remain with the surgeon during the count out – saving time, effort, and reducing the stress involved in typically rushed final counts. Clinical evidence indicates that in the great majority of cases false correct counts are the root cause of retained sponges. Published studies show that at least 88% of retained sponge instances had counts recorded as “correct.” By introducing CASC (Computer Assisted Sponge Counting), SurgiCount Medical has demonstrated they can provide a safer environment for the patient by implementing a consistent, documented sponge counting process.

The Safety-Sponge™ System was designed to be an adjunct to current AORN Recommended Practices (RP) for Sponge Counts and to affect as little change in an institution’s current sponge count policy/procedure as possible. The Safety-Sponge™ System does not change the counting process, it enhances it.

The SAFETY-SPONGE™ System cannot prevent a retained item itself – only the staff can remove a sponge from a body. The system is designed to give the nursing staff and surgeon the greatest confidence in the accuracy of the sponge count by eliminating accidental false correct counts. Since any retained sponges would not have been scanned out, the SurgiCounter would clearly display that certain items were still unaccounted for and that the staff should proceed to search for the missing items.

Adopting the Safety-Sponge™ System will not encroach on the time you spend caring for patients. You will incur only a marginal increase in time spent during the count in process. The SurgiCounter is capable of scanning as fast as a nurse can count sponges following AORN Recommended Practices. SurgiCount has developed technologies such as our “Master Tagged” feature that permits the simple scanning of a single data matrix-bar code on the pack band to count in the number of sponges in that pack into the SurgiCounter. At count out, each sponge in the pack must be counted out individually – the Master Tag does not work for the count out phase. SurgiCount Medical has implemented the Master Tagged process throughout our product line, putting these sponges through additional computer assisted counting and validation steps at the point of manufacture. Both times, during count in and count out, a manual count is done.

Absolutely. The Citadel platform’s SQL database infrastructure allows for integration into current OR MIS/paperless systems  with minimal work and development by a system’s IT department.

SurgiCount’s data matrix-bar code labels are thermally fused onto each sponge. The label cannot be removed under any reasonable duress that a sponge can be expected to incur. All of SurgiCount’s sponge products  have passed biocompatibility, toxicity, and latex testing.

URF technology utilizes radio frequency (“RF”) technology to detect surgical sponges by attaching RF tags to surgical sponges and utilizing a disposable “wand” at the end of the operation to attempt to detect the presence of a surgical sponge in the patient. This technology involves “detecting” surgical sponges and provides no improvement to the counting process. The RF technology provides no documentation on the number of sponges used during the operation, personnel involved in the procedure, or other measured outcomes an institution can utilize to monitor performance. Additionally, the RF technology costs approximately $40 per procedure, nearly three times the per procedure cost of the SurgiCount Medical Safety-Sponge™ System. Please click here for more information regarding RF and RFID.