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Wisconsin Children’s Hospital and Blood Center are experimenting with a high-frequency (HF) RFID system for monitoring pediatric blood storage. Children need less blood than adults, so for patients such as newborns, blood is usually packed in smaller packages. The trial started on October 31, 2016 and ended on February 15. The RFID solution, called CompoTrace, is provided by the medical technology company Fresenius Kabi.
Wisconsin Blood Center is a non-profit organization specializing in blood services. Its business content also includes organ, tissue and bone marrow donation, diagnostic testing, and medical services and research. Therefore, the blood center and Fresenius Kabi started piloting passive HF RFID solutions. The company has been researching and testing RFID technology for more than a decade to better manage blood supply.
(Employees scan blood components into the inventory visibility system)
The company’s latest project aims to determine how the technology can help the visibility and management of blood products in pediatric patients. Lynne Briggs, vice president and CIO of the Blood Center, said: “Children’s blood transfusion is different from adults, and the dose is much smaller.” Therefore, in order not to waste blood, pediatric blood packs are usually much smaller than adult blood packs.
Monitoring products separated and stored in multiple bags is more complicated than products in the same bag. Therefore, Briggs said, the blood center and Fresenius-Kabi wanted to determine the effectiveness of the technology in tracking blood doses for adults and children. This allows us to become better stewards of the blood supply.
The pilot tracks blood products in two locations: Wisconsin Blood Center and Wisconsin Children’s Hospital, which uses the CompoTrace system.
Dale H. Meixelsperger, senior marketing manager of Fresenius Kabi, said that the pilot project of the blood center and children’s hospital is the first pediatric deployment of the CompoTrace solution.
Roberto Vilardi, director of data management at Fresenius Kabi, said that the goals of the pilot project include confirming appropriate inventory levels, optimizing hospital delivery and data collection, so that blood demand is aligned with blood supply.
If the blood bag is divided into several containers at the distribution site of the blood center or in the hospital, the RFID tag can be attached to the new pediatric blood bag. Then, each new tag ID number can be linked to the original product package. Using Fresenius Kabi technology, children’s hospitals can view the blood components in the blood transfusion service inventory.
(The staff enters the blood components into the inventory system)
First, the blood center staff at the distribution point will receive orders for blood products and prepare them. Before shipment, employees will attach 13.56 MHz HF RFID tags that are compatible with ISO 15693 standards on blood products. The unique ID number of the RFID tag will be bound to each product code, type, expiration time and donation ID in the CompoTrace system. If the products require pediatric sizes, they will be split at the distribution center.
In the hospital, Fresenius Kabi installed an RFID kiosk with a touch screen PC, Feig card reader, and barcode scanner. The blood transfusion service staff can update the reception status of the hospital after clicking the “receive” option on the touch screen of the information kiosk, and then place the bag on the RFID reader to bind the product and status information.
When a doctor requests blood products from the storage area of the hospital, the blood transfusion service technician should take the product from the storage library and bring it back to the kiosk. At the touch screen, the technician needs to select “Assign” and place the blood bag on the RFID reader to update the blood status and upload it to the software on the cloud server.
If the doctor does not use blood products, the blood pack will be returned to the blood transfusion service. The technician places the unused blood products on the card reader, clicks “Restore” and puts the items back into the inventory.
Meixelsperger said: “The system aims to expand the existing hospital blood transfusion service information system and work with the current bar code recognition and labeling process.” He pointed out that CompoTrace is an easy-to-use stand-alone system.
Meixelsperger said that the CompoTrace system does not connect or store patient information, so it can ensure patient privacy. The Wisconsin Blood Center and Fresenius Kabi are currently evaluating the results of the pilot.
Briggs said the technology can help blood centers and hospitals better understand their inventory and prevent overstocking and expiration. She said: “These data will help us better manage our inventory, thereby saving costs and ensuring that blood products are fresh.”
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