CenTrak has launched a new version of its healthcare location intelligence platform, adding artificial intelligence tools and new real-time location products.
The release includes a mobile duress application for staff, a safety bracelet for high-risk patients, AI-based asset reporting, and a new range of Bluetooth Low Energy sticker tags for assets, patients, and visitors.
CenTrak's platform is used by hospitals to track equipment, monitor patient movement, and manage staff safety alerts through real-time location systems, often known as RTLS. The latest update is intended to extend that use beyond traditional equipment tracking into broader operational workflows.
One of the main additions is the DuressRT Mobile App, which allows staff to send discreet alerts from mobile phones. The feature extends duress coverage beyond clinical spaces to areas such as parking facilities, courtyards, and home health settings.
CenTrak has also introduced the CenTrak Safety Bracelet, a wearable device for continuous monitoring of patients considered at risk of wandering or other safety incidents. It is aimed at settings including behavioural health and senior care.
Another part of the update focuses on asset tracking. CenTrak's AI-Enhanced AssetsRT product analyses data from equipment fleets to identify usage trends and workflow issues. It also offers natural language search and reporting so staff can find devices and review data more easily.
The new BLE sticker tags are designed to be thin, disposable, and lower cost than traditional tags. This could allow hospitals to track a wider range of items, including phones and tablets, while also extending tags to patients and visitors where needed.
Hospitals in Canada are among those already using related CenTrak systems, and the latest products can be adopted by facilities looking to expand existing deployments. Amy Kleist, Senior Customer Success Manager at CenTrak, said demand in Canada has been shaped by staff safety concerns, battery performance across large device fleets, and the need to make better use of location data.
"The Mobile DuressRT capability is a strong addition. Staff safety continues to be a major focus across Canadian hospitals, particularly in emergency departments, mental health units, and transition areas like parking structures. Extending duress coverage to mobile devices is especially valuable when it can integrate with communication tools hospitals have already deployed for clinicians.
"Another area that stands out is the continued development of BLE-based RTLS devices. Improvements in power efficiency and battery life are very important for hospitals running large badge and asset deployments. The addition of technologies like the AS3933 low-frequency wake-up receiver in BLE badges is particularly helpful. Since the chip listens for low-frequency signals from room-level beacons and only wakes the main processor when needed, it significantly reduces power consumption.
"We are seeing this implemented in Canada in our BLE staff badges, and it has helped improve battery performance. Applying the same approach to patient tags further improves battery life and reduces the operational overhead of managing large fleets of RTLS devices.
"From an operational standpoint, we are also seeing strong interest in using RTLS data to drive more actionable workflows. Many hospitals already collect location data but still struggle to translate it into operational improvements. Enhancements like AI-driven reporting and natural language queries help teams more easily analyse equipment utilisation, identify workflow inefficiencies, and improve overall resource management.
"Our new BLE sticker tags and patient safety wearables also make it easier to expand RTLS beyond traditional high-value assets. Lower-cost disposable tags allow hospitals to track more devices and extend RTLS into additional workflows without significantly increasing deployment costs.
"Overall, it's encouraging to see the continued development of the CenTrak ConnectRT platform and AI-enabled location intelligence. As RTLS deployments evolve, the ability to turn real-time location data into actionable operational insights becomes increasingly important for healthcare organisations trying to improve safety and efficiency while managing limited resources," Kleist said.
Platform expansion
The updated platform is designed to work with hospital systems such as electronic medical records, nurse call platforms, and maintenance management tools. That interoperability is important in healthcare settings, where location data is often only useful if it can be connected to broader clinical and operational systems.
More than 2,000 healthcare organisations worldwide use CenTrak's technology. The latest release suggests suppliers of hospital RTLS systems are trying to move beyond basic tracking and make location data part of day-to-day decision-making on staffing, safety, and equipment use.
Crystal Ryan, Chief Commercial Officer at CenTrak, outlined the rationale for the additions. "With CenTrak's latest innovations, such as mobile applications for staff and low-cost, disposable tags for assets, patients, and visitors, healthcare organizations can expand the utility of their RTLS investments while leveraging AI-enhanced reporting to maximize ongoing value and return on adoption," Ryan said.
"We've evolved our ConnectRT platform to help organizations act on location-driven insights immediately, whether that means responding to a duress event, efficiently managing a fleet of mobile medical equipment, or monitoring a vulnerable patient, without adding complexity to the technology ecosystem. Our goal is to provide a single, comprehensive platform that gives healthcare teams the confidence and clarity they need to focus on what matters most: delivering high-quality care," she added.