Scandent Deploys System at Island Nursing & Rehab Center

August 11, 2011

When "Where did I put my keys?" becomes "Where did I put my teeth?" it's often an elderly nursing home resident doing the asking. Tech to the rescue. At Island Nursing and Rehab Center in Stony Brook, L.I., a new system called Scandent is helping retrieve residents' dentures, glasses, hearing aids and other personal items.

Technicians embed radio frequency ID tags into such items, and then mount tag readers at key points, such as hallways near the laundry and garbage disposal rooms, and at the point where dining trays are returned to the kitchen. Scandent also provides handheld readers to help look for lost items. The system was developed by a Long Island engineer, Akshay Athalye, in response to the center's request.