RFID tags streamline Mississippi blood delivery
23 August 2006 Dallas, Texas USA. Mississippi Blood Services recently
completed a trial using a specially tuned radio frequency identification
(RFID) system from Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) (NYSE: TXN) and
AARFID to streamline inventory management, strengthen safety procedures and
improve delivery of blood bags to hospitals.
The current manual job of scanning individual bar codes on each bag of
blood in sub-freezing temperatures can take hours, with each bag going
through a series of three steps before shipping. The trial showed that same
process takes only an hour or less using the automated RFID system. In
this first phase of the closed-loop RFID experiment, each bag of blood was
identified with a TI RFID tag (Tag-it HF-I ISO/IEC 15693) inlay embedded
inside labels from MPI Label Systems. Multiple bags of blood were placed on
trays and passed out of the cold storage room on a conveyor system, through
a prototype portal custom-designed by AARFID and incorporating readers
manufactured by FEIG Electronic. As the trays passed through the portal, all
of the bags were read simultaneously to check for expiration dates and other
secondary information based on a check of Mississippi Blood Services’
database. Challenges in implementing an RFID system on liquid blood
products include both the plasma content and -30°C
storage temperature required for preservation purposes. The content of the
blood bags creates a dampening effect on the radio frequency signals,
causing the resonant frequency to degrade. Special RFID tag technologies are
needed for accurate and reliable performance. Using its integrated
chip-to-inlay manufacturing capabilities, TI laser tuned each inlay so that
the RFID labels operated at 13.56 MHz, the optimal frequency for this
application, while affixed to the bags. “At this time we think the RFID
system will automate our time and labour intensive manual inventory
processes, enabling us to better ensure product integrity and deliver blood
to hospitals faster,” said Gulam Patel, Mississippi Blood Services
Information Services Manager. “By moving the blood products through the
RFID portal, all tags can be read almost instantly and with higher
accuracy,” said Chad Carpenter, president of AARFID. “Shipping speeds could
be increased and safety checks could be streamlined to ensure that
Mississippi Blood Services can serve their clients, the hospitals, with
confidence.” “Using RFID in the management and delivery of blood products
has the potential for dramatic business process improvements,” said Jeff
Kohnle, business development manager for Texas Instruments RFid Systems.
“Manual operations can be automated so that Mississippi Blood Services’
life-giving inventory can find its way to hospitals, patients or wherever it
is needed with the utmost efficiency.” To top
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