Abstract: An exemplary method for managing surgical sponges in an operating room during a surgical procedure is provided. The method includes providing a first surgical sponge and a second surgical sponge. The first surgical sponge includes a first optically-scannable element, a first human-readable element, and a first detecting element, which includes a first set of unique identification information. The second surgical sponge includes a second optically-scannable element, a second human-readable element, and a second detecting element, which include a second set of unique identification information. The first and second sets of unique identification information are different from one another. The method further includes counting-in the first and second surgical sponges by optically-scanning.