Ultra-Scan, Bio-Optronics to offer enhanced biometrics technology

Ultra-Scan Corporation, an identity management systeme provider, will combine its patented ultrasonic fingerprint biometric technology with Bio-Optronics' Dynamic Hospital suite of products. The two technology companies have made this move because they see the need for multiple, accurate means of identifying patients and staff as a crucial step to reducing medical errors by healthcare professionals.

The combined system will help to address medical errors associated with patient misidentification and medication administration.

The system will add an additional layer of security by requiring that a patient's fingerprint match the bar code on their wristband. In addition, hospital staff responsible for administering medications will be fingerprinted to ensure they are properly authorized to do so.

Medical errors cause up to 98,000 deaths and 770,000 adverse effects annually, representing the eighth leading cause of morbidity in the United States, according to studies by the Institute of Medicine.

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