Precision Dynamics’s Smart Band RFID wristband system enables medical facilities to quickly and accurately identify patients, as well as update the latter’s data.

Philips Semiconductors, TAGSYS, and Texas Instruments Inc. recently released a white paper entitled “Item-Level Visibility in the Pharmaceutical Supply Chain: A Comparison of HF and UHF RFID Technologies” (view it in its entirety at www.rfidproductnews.com), which provides technology and application details of real-world RFID work within the pharma and medical realms.

Below are overviews of several pilot projects the companies and its partners recently undertook in these areas.

The Cell and Genetic Therapy Center of the Paoli Calmette Institute in Marseille, France, began a study in June 2003 to determine RFID technology’s resistance to precipitous temperature variances for use in tracking biological pathology samples.

Working with a group of partners, high-frequency (HF) RFID tags were embedded into the caps of test tubes, which were then immersed in liquid nitrogen and frequently removed during a test period of one year.

After the first year of the pilot, the Center found that HF technology withstood liquid nitrogen at a range of extreme temperature variations between -321°F to +104°F, even when drastically changing temperatures occurred within just a few seconds.

The center’s findings show that RFID technology can be used to track and trace biological samples, even when these samples are subjected to dramatic temperature changes as part of sample processing and storage.

Additionally, the study showed that researchers in the field using HF technology were in compliance with quality assurance guidelines such as those recommended by the GBEA and the BPL in France, and ISO worldwide.

Currently undergoing trials at the Pathology Laboratory of the Portsmouth NHS (National Health Service) Trust in the U.K., a positive ID system in place has shown significant reductions in administration time, both during sampling and laboratory processing.

In the trial, the doctor or nurse taking the blood sample enters patient information into a handheld RFID device at the start of the blood sampling process. The data, which is stored on an HF label on the patient’s blood sample tube, can be read by fixed readers and then automatically transferred to the facility’s database, thus enabling a fully automated process and replacing one that had been previously entirely manual.

By reducing errors and allowing faster processing of samples, costs are reduced, and patients have access to their results more quickly. In addition, because patient data is entered in an electronic format at the beginning of the process, integration of results into patient records is quick and simple.

The U.S. Navy is using HF RFID technology to more efficiently track the status and location of hundreds of wounded soldiers and airmen, prisoners of war, refugees, and others arriving for treatment at Fleet Hospital Three, a nine-acre, 116-bed facility located in Southern Iraq.

There, ScenPro’s Tactical Medical Coordination System (TacMedCS) allows medical professionals to use RFID-enabled wristbands from Precision Dynamics Corporation to automatically identify patients, and update their status, location, and medical information in the system’s electronic whiteboard.

The Navy implemented TacMedCS to replace a labor-intensive, manual system consisting of pen and paper, cardboard tags, and a centrally located whiteboard to show patient movement throughout the hospital. With the new electronic system, each patient receives an HF-enabled wristband, on which basic identification information is stored. Medical professionals then use a handheld RFID device to read the unique identification number, and add or change data to create a digital treatment record that travels with the patient as the latter is moved throughout the facility. Using a wireless LAN, patient information is transferred to an electronic patient management system, further eliminating the need for manual re-entering of data at a central computer terminal.

Precision Dynamics Corporation and Georgetown University Hospital’s (GUH) Blood Bank began a pilot study on March 1, 2004 to explore how RFID-enabled wristband solutions could increase the efficiency and reliability of blood transfusion safety.

For more than two years, GUH’s Outpatient Infusion Service has used a barcode solution as standard practice for double-checking and verifying blood transfusions. GUH is interested in learning whether RFID solutions can increase the efficiency and reliability of transfusion safety in instances where a barcode ID isn’t as effective.

To ensure positive patient identification, the RFID wristband system acts as a portable, dynamic database that carries patient information to be used and updated during the latter’s stay. Say pilot study officials, this accurate, automated system ensures the integrity of information between patient, host device, and hospital information system.

Designed for use in operating rooms, catheter labs, as well as for radiology, orthopedics, neuroradiology, and cardiology departments, Mobile Aspects’ HF RFID-based inventory system has been implemented at four of the top 15 U.S. hospitals.

The system automatically manages equipment and supply inventory, enabling the creation of real-time reports as supplies are removed from RFID-enabled cabinets, and integration with the hospital’s information systems to facilitate seamless item replenishment. Supplies are tagged with HF RFID inlays, and the cabinet compartments contain RFID readers. Once an item is removed from the cabinet, the software requests a scan of the existing inventory, identifying all remaining items and noting which item was removed, by which staff person, and at what time. Say company officials, RFID allows this to occur automatically without the manual reading of barcodes, adding that this item-management system increases productivity, enhances quality of care, reduces costs, and simplifies the overall process.