St V’s Employing Sponge Detection Technology

BRIDGEPORT — St Vincent’s Medical Center recently implemented the use of the RF Surgical Detection System in all operating rooms — the first hospital in Connecticut to do so in an effort to enhance patient safety during surgery. The patented and FDA-approved system, developed by RF Surgical Systems, Inc, scans and signals an alert if any Radio Frequency Detect-tagged surgical sponge remains in a patient following surgery but prior to surgical close. 

According to a study in The New England Journal of Medicine, retained surgical sponges is one of the leading patient safety concerns in hospitals — occurring at an estimated rate of one in every 1,000 to 1,500 intra-abdominal surgeries.

“We place the highest priority on the safety of our patients and this system will enable us to enhance our already established protocols,” said Vincent Donnelly, MD, acting chairman of surgery at St Vincent’s Medical Center. “While sponge counts are the traditional method for ensuring that no foreign bodies are left in the patient, it is not fool proof. Human error can lead to miscounts. With this technology, we have dramatically enhanced safety in the operating rooms.”

There are three components that make up the RF Surgical Detection System. A disposable hand-held wand is connected to a compact, self-calibrating reusable console. The micro RF Tag, sized 4 mm by 12 mm, is embedded in each and every surgical sponge.

By scanning the wand over the patient in the operating room, the system allows for a quick validation that no tagged sponges have been left in the patient prior to surgical closure. In cases where the count is correct but the wand sets off the console’s alarm, the wand can also be used as a guide to locate the missing sponge.

St Vincent’s Medical Center conducted a positive trial of the RF Surgical Detection System in the summer and has now expanded its use to every surgical case in the operating room.

To obtain more information on the RF Surgical Detection System, visit the website at www.rfsurg.com or www.stvincents.org.