ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on Real-Time Location Services (RTLS) as a local positioning system used inside hospital facilities. Tracking is achieved by attaching a transmitter, also referred to as an RTLS tag, to the desired asset. There are a number of RTLS technologies that use different wireless mediums to communicate. In RTLS, an ultrasound signal is transmitted that communicates its location to microphone sensors. RTLS technology is standardized by the International Organization for Standardization and the International Electrotechnical Commission, under the ISO/IEC 24730 series. RTLS tags can alert security to commonly stolen items such as wheelchairs that pass beyond a perimeter threshold outside the building. RTLS can not only track the temperature historically it can identify any variances that may jeopardize the product. An RTLS system is comprised of many critical components that, like any hospital information technology system, should be maintained, optimized, monitored, and backed up.
