A Life Saver

RFID is being incorporated in a variety of industries showing just how versatile the technology is.

From its wide use on toll ways, to its extensive use in libraries to track, borrow and return books, to tracking products, improving visibility and also reducing inventory in the fashion industry, RFID is the technology of today and the future.

At the recent Arab-RFID 2008 conference, delegates from a variety of industries converged to share information about how RFID was being used in their respective fields to yield significant benefit and enhance overall effectiveness.

Daniel W Engels, Chief Technology Officer, Authenticrypt says, “RFID is going to enable a revolution in the medical industry in how we are going to take care of people.”

A shortage of nursing staff is commonplace in all hospitals. With RFID, nurses will be able to do their jobs more efficiently and have more time to care for patients. Since RFID enables greater asset management and efficiency, it makes it easier to find IV pumps, beds, determine correct patients, freeing up time for a nurse. This leads to better management, better monitoring of drugs being given to patients reducing patient errors, pharmaceutical errors, medical errors which happen in hospitals and in some cases can have lethal/life altering effects on patients.

Mistakes happen directly due to human error. Human error occurs if nurses are over worked and if there are no strict and regular checks as sometimes errors can also be caused through the system. “RFID can automate and take the human completely out of the loop,” adds Engels.

Another example where RFID can be of great use and benefit is in the case of implants. Implants such as pacemakers and their batteries need to be replaced in a timely manner. Stents are implanted in arteries to expand and push it open. They are medicated in order to reduce the inflammation caused by the blockage. One of the biggest causes of re-blockage of arteries typically within six to 12 months is scar tissue which starts forming on the ends of the stents causing another heart attack. The only way to know what is happening inside the artery is to put a catheter and check. Being a long procedure many doctors do not usually go through with it so effectively another heart attack could prove the re-blockage! If a RFID pressure sensor is put on the stent, a reader will be able to detect a change and would be able to point to doctors to check on the patient’s heart.

Tyres

As diverse as tyres are from the medical field, RFID is being used to identify tyres for transport fleet managers making fleet management easier.

RFID being a hard chip seems to be out of place in flexible and bendable tyres, not according to Patrick F King, Global Electronics Strategist, Michelin. He says, “B2B industries like transportation companies with a number of trucks, airlines and construction vehicle companies have a potential business benefit. I don’t know if passenger tyres will ever have RFID because of the cost factor involved.”

Michelin is cautiously moving forward to a place where RFID in tyres will be widespread and they are mitigating a risk by wilfully releasing the research they are conducting on the use of RFID in tyres in order to establish a tyre standard for the future. “So, if our plan is effective and if RFID does end up in tyres (which for trucks, airlines and other industries get re-treaded) it will be of immense value for an organisation.

King believes that where there is a real value in assets and if there is a chain of custody involved, RFID is necessary. “Our approach is different, we believe it’s going to happen, we believe in standards, in having harmonisation. It has to be a disciplined process and has to have benefits.”

From left: Patrick F King, Global Economic Strategist, Michelin and Daniel W Engels, Chief Technology Officer, Authenticrypt

Robotic future?

So what about the future of this technology? “An organisation led by the government of Korea has what it calls the Internet of Things. Also known as ubiquitous RFID, what actually happens is if you have a certain number of tagged items and with the way in which the technology is moving forward, the items can actually interact with themselves,” says King.

In simple words, if you have say a number of tagged cutlery and if you send a piece of information through a reader, which is captured by one of the tagged items say a napkin, it could actually inform you that it was sitting next to a plate! And so they would have some interaction.

Another vision sees devices actually looking at their location, proximity and other details and reporting as a community. With the more distinct part also dealing with sensors with which devices can not only communicate to you about what’s going on but also give each other commands!

Here’s to the future.