Traceability of Surgical Instruments: A Systematic Review

Objective: This study provides a comprehensive global overview of surgical instrument traceability systems and accentuates their growing importance in healthcare. Background: Surgical instruments pose risks to patient safety, economic costs, logistical challenges, and environmental impact. The increasing focus on instrument traceability reflects its potential to address these issues. Methods: We performed a systematic review using PRISMA guidelines, analyzing articles from 2000 to 2023 across five digital libraries (PubMed, Web of Science, IEEE, ACM, Google Scholar). Our review concentrated on traceability systems' lifecycle for reusable and sterile surgical instruments. Results: Out of 7189 articles retrieved, 22 were selected for evaluation, and only 6 were considered relevant after a thorough examination. These studies mainly deployed Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology. They enhance patient safety, reduce environmental impact, improve economic efficiency, and optimize logistics. Additionally, these systems encourage more responsible surgical practices. Conclusions: Our study underscores the limited applied research in this field and discusses system architectures and performance metrics. It proposes future research directions, including the development of public databases, integration of automation, and investment in artificial intelligence (AI) and computer vision to improve traceability and risk analysis.