Do You Know Where Your Instruments Are? How Surgical Instrument Marking Can Improve Your Perioperative feat. Bill Camargo and Jennifer Bingaman

Ahead of any surgical procedure or operation is the preparation of surgical instruments. In the latest episode of the podcast “ConCensis,” host Tyler Kern discussed the ins and outs of how Censis utilizes its software to facilitate the use of surgical instruments throughout the full perioperative loop by putting marks on each individual instrument. He spoke with Bill Camargo, Manager of Marking Services, and Jennifer Bingaman, Director of Business Services, on how Censis gets it right.

According to Camargo, there are three main types of surgical instrument markings commonly used – laser, electrochemical, and mechanical. Laser is the most popular, however, there are instances where one or more may be utilized together. For laser marking a significant amount of space is needed between the lens and instrument of marking, so that’s when electrochemical and mechanical marking come into play.

“With some instrument configurations, it’s very difficult, if not impossible, to mark it with a laser, that’s where electrochemical comes into play,” said Camargo. He went on to note that mechanical markings come through with a solution if the former two aren’t the best options. The downside to mechanical markings is their lack of permanence.

Marking allows the perioperative to be as smooth and clear as possible. It also makes the job of operating room (OR) staff members much smoother, particularly in critical times. Facilities choose to mark instruments to maintain efficient organization and tracking, according to Bingaman.

“There’s usually two main reasons why people choose to mark instruments, the biggest being that when you’re assembling a tray in sterile processing and you’re able to scan each instrument to that set, it helps ensure that you have a complete set to the OR, so that OR staff aren’t spending their time looking for missing instruments,” said Bingaman.

Surgical instrument marking also makes identifying and pinpointing the source of any issue that might arise during a procedure. While each surgical instrument tray is unique, when surgical instruments have markings, it clarifies a particular instrument giving you a deeper level of tracking information.

“If God forbid there’s an infection control issue, then if you have instruments marked and you’re scanning at instrument level, then you know exactly what instruments were used on that patient, rather than just knowing this tray was used on this patient. You actually get down to the instrument level,” said Bingaman.

Censis’s CensiTrac software adds another element that improves surgical instrument marking and tracking. Bingaman compared the tracking method to manufacturing barcodes. Similar to how barcodes identify what products were just scanned in a grocery store for example, entering surgical instrument data into the CensiTrac system will help it know what instrument is being used.

Interested in learning more about Censis Technologies’ surgical asset management platform? Visit Censis.com.

Follow us on social media for the latest updates in B2B!

Image

Latest

UGC
The Future of B2B Marketing Lies in the Authenticity of UGC and the Efficiency of AI
September 18, 2025

A strong work ethic can shape a career long before it begins. That foundation guided one marketing leader through decades of corporate experience, where she collaborated with teams across the globe and built a reputation for persistence and follow-through. After retiring from a senior leadership role, Bridget Benedetti chose not to step away from the…

Read More
Suzy DeLine
From Stage Lights to Silicon Valley: Introducing Suzy DeLine, Host of Crafted Journeys
September 17, 2025

Every artisan has a story, and in this introduction, host Suzy DeLine turns the microphone on herself. From growing up on a Wisconsin dairy farm with Broadway dreams, to building a career in Silicon Valley with Intel, Intuit, Adobe, and PayPal, Suzy shares the twists, turns, and defining moments that shaped her journey. Along…

Read More
mobile gaming
From Flip Phones to Free-to-Play Empires: How Mobile Gaming Reshaped Business Models, Communities, and Esports
September 17, 2025

Mobile gaming has quietly become the largest segment of the global gaming industry, generating about $92 billion annually—more than both PC and console games. Yet for decades, many brands and agencies underestimated its reach, focusing instead on arena-filling esports tournaments or blockbuster console titles. With nearly everyone carrying a smartphone, however, mobile has become…

Read More
Revenue Cycle
Transformation Without Disruption: How Access Healthcare Is Rewiring the Revenue Cycle with Agentic AI
September 17, 2025

Hospitals are juggling shrinking margins and rising costs while denial volumes remain stubbornly high. In the revenue cycle alone, hundreds of billions are lost annually to preventable errors and inefficiencies—in fact, Access Healthcare CEO Shaji Ravi cites more than $250 billion wasted each year. Meanwhile, payers have accelerated their use of AI to adjudicate…

Read More