Zebra DS8178-HC

The Zebra DS8178-HC is the cordless healthcare model in the DS8100 Series for Healthcare, designed for hospitals, pharmacies, laboratories and point-of-care workflows where barcode accuracy, patient safety and reliable clinical operation are critical. It is built to help healthcare professionals capture difficult barcodes quickly, reduce manual entry errors and support safer, more efficient patient care. The DS8178-HC is designed for demanding healthcare barcode environments. It combines an 800 MHz microprocessor, a high-resolution 1280 × 960 pixel sensor, high-density focus and Zebra PRZM Intelligent Imaging technology. This combination supports reliable capture of problematic healthcare barcodes, including tiny and curved codes on medicine bottles, IV bags, syringes, specimen trays and biopsy cassettes. The scanner supports a wide range of 1D and 2D barcode symbologies. Supported 1D codes include Code 39, Code 128, Code 93, Codabar / NW7, Code 11, MSI Plessey, UPC / EAN, Interleaved 2 of 5, Korean 3 of 5, GS1 DataBar and Base 32. Supported 2D codes include PDF417, MicroPDF417, Composite Codes, TLC-39, Aztec, DataMatrix, MaxiCode, QR Code, Micro QR, Han Xin, postal codes, SecurPharm, DotCode and Dotted DataMatrix. The DS8178-HC is purpose-built for infection-sensitive environments. Its healthcare white housing uses special plastics that support wipedowns with a wide selection of harsh disinfectants commonly used in hospitals. Concealed screw holes and seams help reduce areas where bacteria could hide, even after cleaning. This makes the scanner suitable for patient rooms, pharmacies, labs, triage, admissions and other clinical areas where frequent cleaning is required. A key healthcare feature is the green LED aimer and warm white illumination. The true green circular aimer is highly visible and safer for sensitive hospital environments where laser aimers are not advised, including NICU areas. The source also notes that the green aimer and white illumination LEDs help reduce the likelihood of triggering PTSD episodes. The DS8178-HC provides flexible feedback modes for different hospital conditions. Users can choose between haptic vibration, good decode LEDs, traditional beep tones with adjustable volume and frequency, and Zebra’s Direct Decode Indicator, which projects illumination onto the barcode after a successful scan. In Night Mode, a quick trigger press toggles between audible beep and vibration, helping clinicians confirm a successful scan without disturbing sleeping patients. The scanner also includes a built-in lamp. This allows the DS8178-HC to illuminate a nurse’s workspace without turning on room lights, supporting quieter night-shift workflows and helping avoid unnecessary disturbance to patients. The DS8178-HC supports two interchangeable power options. The PowerPrecision+ lithium-ion battery provides 65,000 scans from a full charge under the stated one-scan-per-second test profile. It also reports useful battery information for better power management. The PowerCap capacitor is designed for workflows where the scanner is returned to the cradle when not in use; it provides 2,000 scans from a full charge, 200 scans from the default ready-to-scan level and up to 100 scans after as little as 35 seconds of cradle charging, depending on the ready-to-scan setting. The dedicated power charge gauge helps clinicians quickly check whether the battery or PowerCap is sufficiently charged at the start of a shift. Both power sources can be changed without tools, which simplifies maintenance and reduces downtime. Charging reliability is supported by Zebra Connect+ Contact technology. The charging contact design in the DS8178-HC cradles is intended to provide reliable, corrosion-free charging. The scanner can be used with compact USB-powered cradles, including a presentation cradle for hands-free scanning and a desk / wall cradle that can be mounted on a wall, mechanical arm or mobile workstation. The DS8178-HC supports cordless mobility through Bluetooth 4.0 with BLE. Class 1 Bluetooth supports a range of up to 330 ft / 100 m, while Class 2 supports up to 33 ft / 10 m. Adjustable Bluetooth output power allows the wireless profile to be tuned for the environment. The cordless DS8178-HC is also MFi certified for use with iPhones and iPads in supported configurations. Wi-Fi Friendly Mode helps reduce wireless interference by ensuring that DS8178-HC Bluetooth scanners operate only on channels that are not shared with the healthcare facility’s wireless LAN. This is important in hospitals where Wi-Fi performance can affect multiple clinical systems. Anti-loss and workflow tools help protect uptime. Zebra Virtual Tether can alert users through both the scanner and cradle if the scanner is taken out of range or left out of the cradle for too long. If a scanner is lost, the cradle paging button can help locate it. AutoConfig allows the DS8178-HC to switch workflows quickly. Since scanner settings are stored in the cradle base, pairing the scanner to a different base can automatically configure it for a new host application and use case. This allows a scanner to move from a patient room to pharmacy, phlebotomy or laboratory workflows without manual reconfiguration. Healthcare-specific data tools add further clinical value. UDI Scan+ automatically parses and formats Unique Device Identification information from medical device packaging, sending the correct data to the correct application fields. Blood Bag Parse+ captures all required blood bag data in a single scan, including blood type, donation date, donation location and expiration date. These tools help reduce manual entry and support patient safety and inventory accuracy. The DS8178-HC is suitable for a broad range of healthcare applications, including patient identification and verification, medication administration, hospital pharmacy medication intake and inventory, hospital laboratory specimen track and trace, caregiver accountability, dietary management, chain of custody for controlled substances, operating room surgical supplies and implants, patient admission, emergency room and triage workflows, electronic record access and inventory management. The scanner is built for everyday healthcare durability. It is designed to withstand multiple 6 ft / 1.8 m drops to concrete and 2,000 tumbles in a 0.5 m tumbler. Environmental sealing is rated IP52. Operating temperature is 0°C to 50°C for the scanner, with presentation mode operation listed from 0°C to 40°C. Humidity tolerance is 5% to 95% non-condensing. Management is supported by Zebra DNA tools. 123Scan can create configuration barcodes and simplify staging. Scanner Management Service can configure and update scanners connected to hosts without depot staging or user action. ScanSpeed Analytics tracks metrics such as symbology and decode speed to help identify barcode issues before they affect productivity or quality of care. Remote Diagnostics records asset information, health, statistics, configuration settings and barcode data for troubleshooting and fleet-wide analysis. The DS8178-HC also supports imaging functions. Images can be exported as Bitmap, JPEG or TIFF, and the source lists image quality of 109 PPI on an A4 document. This can support document-related healthcare workflows where barcode scanning and basic image capture are both useful. Selected configurations support FIPS 140-3 compliance and TAA compliance, while the cordless DS8178-HC is listed as MFi certified for use with iPhones and iPads. These features are configuration-dependent and should be verified during model selection. The supplied material states that the DS8178-HC and CR8178-HC cradle are covered by a three-year warranty under Zebra’s hardware warranty terms. The corded DS8108-HC is covered for five years. Recommended services include Zebra OneCare Select and Zebra OneCare Essential. Overall, the Zebra DS8178-HC is a premium cordless healthcare scanner for clinical environments where patient safety, difficult barcode capture, disinfectant-ready housing and workflow flexibility matter. Its strongest value lies in high-performance 1D / 2D scanning, PRZM Intelligent Imaging, healthcare-ready plastics, Night Mode with vibration, green LED aimer, built-in lamp, swappable PowerPrecision+ battery and PowerCap options, AutoConfig, Virtual Tether, UDI Scan+, Blood Bag Parse+ and Zebra DNA manageability.

Datasheet

Product Features

• Scan technology: 1D/2D

Product Identifiers

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