Biological research laboratory adopts EPC Gen 2 label to manage human samples to improve efficiency and safety
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Two biological research laboratories are now using RFID systems to track frozen human tissues, cells, and hazardous materials, while minimizing the need for staff to manually handle these materials. The system provided by RURO is called FreezerPro, which is dedicated to the sample frozen storage market, allowing users to understand the items stored in their refrigerated rooms, the identity and time of the removed items, and easily realize sample positioning. The sample is usually poured into a clean, test tube-like plastic bottle and placed in a storage box. In large laboratories, samples are also placed in dishes-a flat plastic tray with multiple grooves, and small samples are placed in troughs. The pallets are about 2.5 inches wide and 4 inches long, and can be stacked one by one in the storage box, and the number can reach 400. Regardless of whether test tubes or trays are used, a cold storage room can usually store thousands of samples.
Laboratories using the RURO system store samples in test tubes. By adopting this system, the laboratory can better ensure the safety of samples, including high-risk substances, such as frozen bacteria or viruses, and precious materials, such as stem cell research materials. The laboratory can also use this system to quickly complete sample storage verification. Both laboratories requested not to publish their names.
Refrigeration laboratories are usually faced with the challenge of tracking sample test tubes in storage boxes and tracking storage boxes in cold rooms. The sample storage temperature is minus 90-minus 190 degrees Celsius. Most test tubes and trays are identified by the serial number or description manually recorded on the surface, or the bar code label of the package. The storage box can hold 64-100 sample test tubes. In order to ensure that a particular sample is in the correct location and no sample error occurs, laboratory technicians must maintain close inventory records, such as which container is in which location. Whenever the test tube is taken out, the staff must record its serial code or scan the bar code to ensure that the correct sample is taken out. In two laboratories, the extremely low storage temperature caused frost in the containers, which made the identification task more difficult. Workers often need to manually remove the frost to identify the test tubes, explained Doug Milliken, Ruro sales director. However, due to the danger of the substances stored in the test tubes, the laboratory does not want the samples to involve too much manual processing.
With the FreezerPro system, the laboratory uses a desktop reader and sticks an RFID tag on each sample tube. Each FreezerPro test tube label has a barcode serial number printed on the surface, and the relevant text of the sample that is readable by the naked eye. The EPC Gen 2 passive UHF inlay of the label also contains a unique ID code. The sample test tube is stored in a storage box, which is also equipped with an RFID tag. The FreezerPro software corresponds the ID of the storage box label with the ID of the sample test tube label in the box. When using new test tube trays, the laboratory encodes and prints labels on a Zebra Technologies printer and applies them to the test tubes or trays. After the samples are placed in the box, the staff only needs to put the box on a reader, and the software then reads the ID codes of all samples without taking out the identification one by one.
One of the laboratories adopted this system a year ago and now tracks approximately 30,000 human biological substances. The RFID system helps the laboratory to reduce the labor required to identify the identity and application of the sample, as well as the inventory time of the cold storage room.
There are about 50 researchers in the laboratory, tracking each test tube and ensuring its safe storage is the laboratory’s biggest challenge. After adopting this system, researchers only need to log in to the FreezerPro software and enter the sample name they need to complete the search. According to Milliken, the software will indicate which cold room and specific container the sample is located in.
The laboratory used three Impinj Speedway desktop RFID readers-two installed in the cold room and one installed in the laboratory. When the sample is taken out of the refrigerator, the technician places the entire storage box on the reader. The reader reads the ID code of the box and the ID code of the sample label inside, and then sends the information to the FreezerPro software, which compiles the ID code, and displays the result on the computer screen, including related alarms (if the sample is missing or placed in the wrong In the container).
The software displays a map of the box, and each storage space in the box is displayed with a color code, which represents the type of sample. The software can also identify whether the sample searched by the researcher is in the container. When the box returns to the cold room, it is placed on the desktop reader again. The reader reads the ID code of the box and the sample tube label, and then sends the data to the FreezerPro software to indicate that the item has returned to the cold room.
The second laboratory is to store samples for the US military and also uses a system similar to the first laboratory. The laboratory adopted this system 5 months ago. Safety is the most important factor they consider. The main purpose of installing this system is to ensure that the samples are in the correct location. Researchers say that when the laboratory often scans the boxes, it looks for missing test tubes. The laboratory uses two FreezerPro readers to track 2,000 samples.
The cost of RFID tags is US$1, Milliken said, the software price is US$5,000, the Zebra printer encoder is 6,000, and the Impinj reader is between US$4,000 and US$6,000. In order to develop such a system, Impinj, Print Solutions, and RURO collaborated to develop a label that can be read through a layer of frost that can work in extremely cold environments. The tag can also be read in a liquid nitrogen environment.
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