Beep! Recorded!By now you are very familiar with the handheld barcode scanner. They're everywhere and you think nothing of their use any more. The technology to gather, store and utilize these barcodes in retail, airports, on highways, libraries , on your luggage, at your hospital bed or in the OR has proliferated so rapidly and universally that they are accepted without much question at all. When and where did the barcode originate? Barcodes have been with us so long that most of us either never knew or have forgotten. So just in case you're interested or on Jeopardy and the question comes up, here's the answer. Bar codes are also known as UPC's (Universal Product Code). UPC's or barcodes are a small coded label containing information about the item they are placed on. The barcode is a numerical code, normally of 12 digits, that can be scanned by laser beams. There are a variety of scanners like the ones you see in almost every store used to read the barcode. They are also used on library books, stock in back rooms, warehouses and other locations, all kinds of packages and pieces of luggage in shipment, railroad cars, automobiles. You name it - the possibilities are endless. The UPC will probably contain coded data regarding the manufacturer, origin, destination all manner of data. The first uses of codes on commonplace items was seen in 1948 and was refined through the '50's. The ability to read the barcodes may be at your grocery counter, on your car as you go through a turnstile, on your clothing when you take it off the rack. To read the code you need a scanner. Scanners are getting smaller and today's hand held scanners are the means by which that barcode gets in to a system where the data is captured and used. To use it, the entity has to have requisite software to store, massage, or deliver the data elsewhere. The technology that allows the widespread use of the handheld bar code scanner has at the same time given rise to the use of the technology in an incredible variety of applications and locations. Here are some of the more fascinating: Government Fighting the war on terror, Homeland Security utilizes handheld scanning devices to monitor the movement of people and freight in and out of the country In defence, management of inventory, communication with dispersed units, aircraft, ships all use handheld devices to locate and track movement Civilian uses in managing disaster scenarios following natural or man made situations Medical Scanning capabilities and wireless technology are used in a variety of clinical and administrative applications Frequent updates of patient data and identification of medication at the bedside reduce the possibility of error in treatment. Managing and tracking medications, patients, specimens and equipment without paperwork |