Every year, in the United States about 1,500 people have surgical objects accidentally left inside them after surgery – HECTIC! Read this article by ScienceDaily (Dec. 9, 2007) to see how barcodes have come to the rescue. When interviewed for the above mentioned article Dr. Steven DeJong said that “When there is significant bleeding and a sponge is placed in a patient, it can sometimes look indistinguishable from the tissue around it” – yummy!
If only they had turned to the reliable old barcode for assistance sooner – so many more sponges could have been saved!
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