ZigBee and Wireless Radio Frequency Coexistence

 

A small company with proprietary radio and networking technology published a whitepaper in 2007 entitled:  WLAN Interference with 802.15.4, which attempts to paint a bleak picture of WLAN and 802.15.4 coexistence.  This whitepaper has surfaced again recently from a major provider of WLANs for healthcare in an attempt to introduce fear, uncertainty and doubt about  the reliability of technologies utilizing IEEE802.15.4 such as ZigBee. Click here to download the ZigBee Alliance whitepaper and learn why the conclusions should be considered questionable, at best.  The bottom line: to be approved as an  IEEE 802 standard, a coexistence document and plan ensures all 802 wireless standards can operate and coexist in the same space.

 

 

 

Real-time Location Systems (RTLS) in Healthcare: Wi-Not Wi-Fi?

 

The “just add water” story Wi-Fi marketers publicize loses steam in real-world applications. Although many Wi-Fi RTLS vendors tout the plug and play attributes of using their existing infrastructure; the leading manufacturer of WLANs has a deployment guideline document for Wi-Fi RTLS that is over 200 pages in length. Truly, this is not plug and play in any regard.  Click here to download "Wi-Not Wi-Fi" which discusses some of the past and current paradigm changes that are present within the healthcare vertical market. It will additionally provide an overview of Wi-Fi RTLS solutions and why it seems these solutions have not moved out from a “science project” or a departmental system to one that is enterprise-wide and providing quantifiable business process improvement.

 

 

 

Hard Dollar ROI from RTLS in Hospitals and Healthcare Facilities

 

The value of Real Time Location Systems (RTLS) in hospitals has attracted many technologies and there has been confusion as to whether leveraging an existing Wi-Fi network would be more sensible than installing a dedicated network for RTLS. Because of the prevalence of Wi-Fi in many hospital settings, there have been articles proclaiming it as the obvious choice. However, most obvious is not always best. Click here to learn how to avoid costly and disruptive Wi-Fi infrastructure upgrades, recalibration and maintenance. 

 

 

 

Electronic Interference from Radio Frequency Identification in Medical Equipment

 

Awarepoint Gets a Clean Bill of Health

The June 25, 2008 Journal of the American Medical Association study entitled, Electronic Interference from Radio Frequency Identification Inducing Hazardous Incidents in Critical Care Medical Equipment, has initiated concern related to asset tracking and real-time location systems (RTLS) in healthcare environments.  Learn More  

 

ECRI Institute responds to RFID electromagnetic interference study

Click here to download the August 2008 Health Technology Trends newsletter 

 

For more information, click here to download the whitepaper: