Five players in the medical devices industry have for the first time applied blockchain technology for processing orders. The Zurich based startup Xatena provided infrastructure. The successful pilot project sets a new ground for traceability and transparency in the aforementioned industry.
Today, the traceability of medical devices is hardly efficient and can hardly be guaranteed trustworthy for all parties. Various implant and counterfeit scandals have revealed that the risk is borne by the patients.
To address these issues, Xatena developed a digital platform for healthcare procurement supporting hospitals and suppliers with the digital transformation of sourcing and supply chain processes. On the B2B platform, healthcare providers can browse through offerings, request quotes, and evaluate them. Currently, close to 1000 companies are registered on the platform.
A successful pilot
Xatena is now introducing a blockchain-based supply chain platform that was built on a hyperledger technology. In a pilot, the Cantonal Hospital Winterthur, the Cantonal Hospital Baden, the University Children’s Hospital Zurich and the Spitalregion Fürstenland Toggenburg together with the two medical device suppliers Anandic System Medical AG and ITRIS Medical AG carried out orders using through the Xatena blockchain platform. The tested infrastructure makes it possible to trace the route taken by a medical device. The transaction steps in the supply chain are stored in the blockchain in an unchangeable way and with a common consensus.
Commenting on the functionalities of the platform, Xatena asserts that, “With the new Medical Device Regulation (MDR), medical devices will always have to have a Unique Device Identification (UDI) number. This allows a medical device to be uniquely identified in the supply chain. The blockchain also makes it possible to track the transaction steps. Only together do the two factors make a traceable supply chain for each medical device possible. This directly serves patient safety.”
Regarding the next steps, Andreas Heizmann, Co-founder and CEO of xatena says that the company will further test the solution in a larger Proof of Concept by integrating further supply chain stakeholders. The tested functional scope of the solution, as revealed by Heizmann, is available to customers.
(Press release/ran)
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