is the development of a ruggedized RFID tag that can withstand sterilization temperatures of 275 degrees F in a steam autoclave as well as liquid sterilization methods used in hospitals. Perkins would not discuss what advances make the new sterilizable RFID tag possible—the company says it has filed for IP coverage of the concept—but he says a hospital’s highest-value assets are usually found in its operating rooms. The tags can be attached to a surgical instrument tray, such as a hip set used in orthopedic surgery. Keeping track of those trays is important; the instruments are expensive, says Perkins, who believes Awarepoint is the only company on the market with autoclavable RFID tags.
Awarepoint CEO Jason Howe told me the company has installed its technology for 30 customers at 45 sites since 2005. That includes a system for the Jackson Health System in Miami, FL, that tracks more than 12,000 assets throughout 17 buildings totaling more than 4 million square feet.
Howe says Awarepoint also has the benefit of once having tried to develop its sensor network using Wi-Fi devices, which is the technology used by such rivals as Aeroscout of Redwood City, CA, and Radianse of Andover, MA. After installing a system based on Wi-Fi’s 802.11 frequency standard at the Naval Medical Center San Diego, Howe says, “We learned the hard way that 802.11 was not going to work for real-time location.” The sensor network was not sufficiently accurate, Howe says, but more importantly, it interfered with the Naval hospital’s “mission critical” wireless computer network.
The company, which was incorporated in 2002, raised $13.3 million in November through a Series D round of venture funding, which was led by Cardinal Partners and joined by Venrock and Avalon Ventures. Howe says the company raised another $4 million at that time from Silicon Valley Bank, along with $7 million in vendor financing.
Awarepoint is now generating revenue and Howe says he expects the company’s operations will break even by mid-2010. He refers to Awarepoint’s technology as “a ubiquitous sensor network,” and the way he talks, he expects that it will soon be everywhere.
