A Tag in the Sole: Tracking Footwear Sanitization in Healthcare Settings

The Client

A healthcare facility uses reusable footwear within its wards, subject to a strict sanitization protocol between one use and the next. Every pair must be sanitized according to precise procedures before returning into rotation — a critical step for the safety of both patients and staff.

The Challenge

The facility had no reliable system to objectively prove that every pair of footwear had actually followed the required sanitization protocol. This is far from a secondary issue in a hospital setting, where the traceability of reusable devices is a direct element of clinical safety, not merely an organisational one.

The technical challenge imposed a strict constraint on where the tag could be placed: it had to be embedded in the sole, not applied externally, where it would remain exposed to the risk of contamination or detachment during use. The tag also had to survive repeated sanitization cycles, often carried out with heat and aggressive chemical agents, without losing readability or physical integrity.

The Wintag Solution

Wintag embedded an NFC tag directly into the sole of the footwear, using materials designed to withstand the sanitization cycles required by the healthcare protocol. The tag is able to automatically record every step of the protocol, eliminating the need for a manual check or a paper tick at the end of each cycle.

Embedding the tag in the sole, rather than applying it externally, ensures it remains protected throughout the entire sanitization process and during daily use, without interfering with the footwear's characteristics or requiring any special handling from staff.

The Results

Compliance with sanitization protocols is now demonstrable at any moment, with automatic traceability that requires no manual intervention from healthcare or technical staff. The benefit is direct for the safety of patients and staff, with documentation always available in case of a verification or internal audit.

Technology Used

For applications on reusable devices or garments subject to sanitization protocols, Wintag evaluates embedding the NFC tag in protected points of the product — such as the sole in this case — choosing materials and encapsulation resistant to the heat cycles and chemical agents specific to the protocol. Reading via smartphone allows staff to record each step without additional infrastructure.

Do you manage reusable devices or garments subject to strict sanitization protocols? Let's talk: let's discover together how to make compliance automatically demonstrable.