Wisconsin Blood Center RFID tracking research project successfully entered the second phase
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After completing a two-year study to determine whether high-frequency RFID technology can be safely used in blood banks and benefit them economically, the research team led by the Wisconsin Blood Center received a US$1.4 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). To build a prototype of a high-frequency RFID solution. This set of solutions will include software, tags and handheld and channel readers, which can be used by blood banks and hospitals across the United States. The prototype development phase (expected to take another two years) will further study the possible impact of RF signals on plasma-the follow-up to the study of red blood cell and platelet RF impact, and complete an impact analysis report related to return on investment for possible applications of hospitals.
The first phase of the research was completed in February 2009 in collaboration with several institutions, including the University of Wisconsin RFID laboratory, information service consulting agency SysLogic, Carter BloodCare, Baptist Health System, and the Iowa School of Medicine.
The latest phase of the project is also carried out by these institutions. Baptist Health System, Carter BloodCare and Iowa Medical College will be used as models for blood product management and blood transfusion in different scales and methods
The first stage of impact analysis found that a blood bank similar to the BCW scale, which produces 250,000 blood bags per year, can usually recover the implementation cost of the RFID blood tracking system within 3.9 years. This data is based on an evaluation of this technology-including handheld or desktop readers, tags, and software-with an implementation cost of $744,000 and a savings of $827,000 over a five-year period. The savings come from the reduction of manual tracking of blood products and the timely reduction of expired blood. Another benefit of the system is more difficult to quantify, which is to improve safety and ensure that patients get the right blood, said Lynne Briggs, BCW Application and Program Director.
In the first stage, the UW RFID laboratory tests the reading of passive high-frequency tags attached to blood bags and placed in an insulated storage box
In the first stage, the Wisconsin team tested the impact of HF 13.56 MHz RF signals in compliance with the ISO 15693 standard on red blood cells and platelets. The staff exposed the blood to a 13.56 MHz RF signal and 5 amps/meter for 23-25 hours. An analog reader (not a real RFID reader)-a Helmholtz coil-is wound around the blood bag so that the blood bag receives RF signals from all angles. The research team only tested HF, because UHF UHF is more likely than HF to activate water molecules in blood products and increase the temperature.
Passive high-frequency tags affixed to the blood bag
Studies have found that RF neither causes an increase in blood temperature nor degrades any cells or proteins. From the very beginning, the research team sought guidance and advice from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The FDA classified this system as a medical device, because the blood used in the device will eventually be used in the human body.
“The FDA has provided us with some good references to help confirm the safety of our RFID system and consider everything that should be considered,” Briggs said. This triggered the initial red blood cell and platelet tests. The team submitted the research results to the FDA in the spring of 2008, and the FDA reviewed the results. The FDA requires the same testing of plasma in the second phase, that is, before the actual product is used in the pilot project.
In the first phase, researchers at the UW RFID laboratory also carried out usability tests to study the reading of tags when they are applied to blood bags and surrounded by packaging and storage materials commonly used in blood bank centers.
The second stage includes building and testing the system prototype. Although this pilot site has not yet been determined, Briggs said the research team has decided where to read the tags in the supply chain and what data the tags will store, so that blood banks and hospitals can use RFID technology to track blood from donors to recipients. Circulation process. Authorized readers of tags include tag manufacturers, blood bag manufacturers, blood banks, and hospitals.
The HF ISO 15693 label-a manufacturer not yet selected-will contain a chip with two independent data storage areas. The information stored on the label must comply with ISBT Code 128, the international safety standard for blood transport.
When the project started two years ago, the market did not have enough internal storage to store the required data. Therefore, the research team discussed with the manufacturer to develop a high-memory passive high-frequency tag (the research team hopes to reach 3 kilobytes), the memory is divided into several areas (donor and receiver data are stored in different areas), the tag is based on ISO 15693 standard, with additional memory area definable by BloodCenter. According to Briggs, readers on the market that comply with the ISO 15693 standard can encode, lock and read tags.
When the blood bank draws blood, employees use labeled blood bags, and then write the date and time, blood type, donation identification code, and expiration date on the label. The center will then process the blood and separate it into several product containers, each with an RFID tag that writes the source data of the product. When a processed blood bag is ready to leave the blood bank and sent to the hospital, the tag will be read again, registering the departure, time and date of the blood bag. When the hospital receives the blood bag, it writes data in a separate area of the chip memory, such as the medical records and date of birth of the blood transfusion patient. When blood is distributed to the patient, when the blood bag label is read again, confirming that the patient receives the correct blood product. In some cases, if there is a delay in blood transfusion, the tag writes the data delay information, and then the unused blood bag is sent back to the blood bank.
The system design has been finalized. Now the team only needs to select hardware vendors and develop software to store shared data between the hospital and the blood bank. The system must be able to be integrated into any established computer system (BECS) of any blood bank. “RFID software itself will not be very complicated,” she said, “but it needs to be integrated with BECS”
Plasma is one of the most difficult products to label because its storage temperature is extremely low-minus 18 degrees. Therefore, researchers first chose to study red blood cells and platelets, the latter stored in a cold box or at room temperature. If RF signals affect red blood cells and platelets, there is no need to study plasma. “With relevant funding, we can study the performance of labels in harsher environments,” Briggs said.
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