Radio Frequency Identification Tracking System Research Articles

Radiofrequency identification tracking system (RFID) significantly improves blood bank inventory management and decreases staff work effort.

Before implementation of the radio frequency identification (RFID) system, there was a high loss rate of 4.0%-4.3% of red blood cell (RBC) units every year expiring on the shelf in our transfusion service laboratory. We introduced RFID technology to improve inventory management and the burden of work on the staff. The goal of this study was to evaluate the impact of RFID technology on the inventory management of RBC units and the staff workload in a transfusion service laboratory. Using an RFID system involves encoding RBC units with an RFID tag capturing information such as donor identification number, product code, blood type, expiration date, product volume, and negative antigen(s). Tag information is collected through retrofitted storage shelves linked to the RFID server. The study analyzed RBC usage by unit and by volume (mL) and staff work effort to carry out inventory management tasks before and after the implementation of the RFID system. Implementation of the RFID technology reduced the loss, or discard, of RBC units to less than 1% annually (a statistically significant change, p < .001). The RFID computer dashboard provides a constant visual update of the inventory, allowing technologists to have accurate product counts and reducing their work burden. Implementation of RFID technology substantially reduced RBC product loss, improved inventory management, and lessened staff work burden.

Bedload transport in rivers, size matters but so does shape

Bedload transport modelling in rivers takes into account the size and density of pebbles to estimate particle mobility, but does not formally consider particle shape. To address this issue and to compare the relative roles of the density and shape of particles, we performed original sediment transport experiments in an annular flume using molded artificial pebbles equipped with a radio frequency identification tracking system. The particles were designed with four distinct shapes and four different densities while having the same volume, and their speeds and distances traveled under constant hydraulic conditions were analyzed. The results show that particle shape has more influence than particle density on the resting time between particle displacement and the mean traveling distance. For all densities investigated, the particle shape systematically induced differences in travel distance that were strongly correlated (R2 = 0.94) with the Sneed and Folks shape index. Such shape influences, although often mentioned, are here quantified for the first time, demonstrating why and how they can be included in bedload transport models.

Impact of glues used for RFIDs on the longevity and flight muscles of the stingless bee Melipona quadrifasciata (Apidae: Meliponini)

We conducted several tests on the stingless bee Melipona quadrifasciata aiming to determine the impact of the glue used for applying radio frequency identification (RFID) tags on this bee species. The study was organized in three experimental sets, in which we evaluated the effects of a synthetic glue, a natural glue (shellac), and the effects of the bee manipulation alone (control group). We performed (i) an in vitro experiment (bioassay), in which we tested five different experimental treatments in triplicate: chip plus synthetic glue, chip plus shellac, synthetic glue, shellac, and control, totaling 150 bees (n = 30 per treatment); (ii) field experiments, in which we tested the RFID tracking system composed of RFID tags, reading units, antennas, and circuit boards; and (iii) the morphological and histochemical analyses of the flight muscles of bees collected from each experimental treatment (n = 5 per treatment) at 48 h after the beginning of bioassay. Use of the natural glue, as opposed to the synthetic glue, promoted an increase of the bees’ longevity while inhibiting detrimental impacts on their foraging activities, as observed by both the bioassay and field experiments. We found negative responses to the synthetic glue treatment combined with the electronic tags, showing that the natural glue induces less morphological damage to the flight muscles of tagged stingless bees.

How to Study Socially Monogamous Behavior in Secretive Animals? Using Social Network Analyses and Automated Tracking Systems to Study the Social Behavior of Prairie Voles

Accurately recording the social and mating behavior of wild animals is necessary to test hypotheses regarding the evolution of monogamous behavior but documenting the behavior of most wild animals is challenging. Social network analyses can use patterns of spatial and temporal co-occurrence to describe the social associations of individuals within a population, such as which opposite-sex individuals are found together more frequently than others as an indicator of their degree of social monogamy. Social networks generated using automated radio frequency identification (RFID) tracking systems may provide insights into the social behavior of secretive animals because they enable the automated and continuous tracking of the social associations among individuals, which can address many of the limitations with studying these kinds of species. We assessed the potential for social networks generated using an automated RFID tracking system to describe the social behavior of prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster) in semi-natural enclosures. Our aim was to assess whether social networks generated using the RFID system provided meaningful insights into the social behavior of voles by comparing this method to other methods that have been traditionally used in laboratory (partner preference tests) or field (degree of home range overlap) studies to study social monogamy in prairie voles. In partner preference tests conducted in the field, females spent more time with males with which they had stronger social network associations. Voles that had stronger social network associations also had home ranges that overlapped considerably more than dyads with lower social network associations. In addition, social networks generated from live-trapping and RFID data were comparable but social networks generated using data from our RFID system recorded almost twice as many social associations overall. Our results show that social association metrics derived from social networks generated using the RFID tracking system reflect other commonly used measures of social monogamy in prairie voles. Overall, this suggests that patterns of spatial and temporal co-occurrence are meaningful measures of social monogamy in wild animals.

Manufacturing Feasibility Evaluation of RFID chips embedded in Artificial Organs

Advances in medical technology rely heavily on the collection and analysis of measured data to facilitate patient diagnosis and business decisions. The healthcare industry, particularly pharmaceuticals and diagnostic processes, has an ongoing need to improve item tracking and data collection to improve the quality of care while reducing cost. This paper primarily focuses on integrating Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) inside of artificial organs to provide doctors and nurses a better synopsis of the embedded organ. The remote, non-invasive characteristics of RFID can facilitate the information needs of healthcare without imposing additional burden onto the patient or staff. Properly deployed RFID enabled devices is envisioned to provide convenient and accurate data for artificial organs conditions, and critical information that may be necessary for medical specialist to better serve patients with these organs. This paper describes an all-encompassing RFID tracking system that begins with compliance documentation from implementation duration of the patient’s life. This RFID system can provide data for decision-making and facilitate compliance with FDA imposed e-pedigree requirements. This transcript introduces healthcare trends in order to motivate the need for a biocompatible RFID system. The overall goal of the pending research is to develop biocompatible RFID tag components for use with systems implemented inside artificial organs and continued through the duration of the device as mentioned above. It is envisioned that successful implementation of this technology could improve life expectancy of patients with artificial organs by ten percent.

Implementation of a RFID Tracking System to Capture Trauma Attending Arrival Times in the Emergency Department

Background: Critically injured patients arriving to the Emergency Department (ED) require activation of the trauma team. Patient acuity determines the level of team activation required. For the highest level of acuity, the American College of Surgeons (ACS) Committee on Trauma (COT) mandates that an Attending Trauma Surgeon be present in the ED within fifteen minutes of patient arrival in at least 80% of encounters. Poor compliance with EMR documentation of attending trauma surgeon arrival times to the ED placed Level 1 Trauma Center verification at risk for a major academic medical center. We developed an objective, automated system for documenting trauma team arrival times, utilizing Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) beacons in the ED. Objective: Developing and testing a sustainable, objective system for measuring trauma team compliance with ACS activation requirements in the ED of a Level 1 Trauma Center. Methods: Our team developed and trialed a system using RFID beacons as a means to triangulate badges worn by trauma faculty when responding to team activations in the ED. Revisions were made to pre-existing RFID hospital infrastructure used for equipment tracking purposes. The on-call trauma attending surgeons were asked to wear a RFID badge affixed to their hospital staff ID lanyard during our pilot study. The system captured and recorded the net time between team activation and trauma attending surgeon arrival to the ED. As a comparison, we also continued the historical practice of relying on ED nursing staff documentation in the EHR. Results: Results were captured over a 4-month span. During that period, 57 ED patients required the highest level of team activation. Due to pilot logistics (a limited number of RFID badges prevented all attending surgeons from wearing badges at all times), Trauma faculty was wearing a RFID badge during 46 of 57 activations. There was no RFID data recorded on the other 11 activations (11 for no badge worn, 0 due to system malfunction). Trauma attending arrival was in compliance of the 15-minute window 45 out of the 46 instances (97.8% compliance rate). Of the 11 activations not recorded via RFID, 8 were documented as in compliance, and 3 were noncompliant in the EHR (1 arrival >15 minutes, 2 missing any EHR documentation; 72.7% compliance rate). Out of all 57 activations, 5 lacked EHR documentation. Within that subset, the RFID system documented compliance in 4 cases. One activation lacked EHR and RFID documentation. Conclusions: Triangulating trauma faculty location in the ED using RFID beacons is a cost-effective, sustainable system for monitoring arrival time compliance with ACS requirements. An automated system such as our RFID program ensures that our trauma faculty meets ACS regulatory standards for a Level 1 Trauma Center. The system allows ED nursing staff to eliminate an EHR documentation step during critical initial moments in the ED. Internal review of our pilot has justified a full-scale roll-out of our RFID program to trauma faculty.

RFID-Based Real-Time Navigation for Interventional Magnetic Resonance Imaging: Development and Evaluation of a Novel Tracking System

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the suitability of a novel radio-frequency identification (RFID)-based tracking system for intraoperative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). A RFID tracking system was modified to fulfill MRI-compatibility and tested according to ASTM and NEMA. The influence of the RFID tracking system on MRI was analyzed in a phantom study using a half-Fourier acquisition single-shot turbospin echo (HASTE) and true fast imaging with steady-state precession sequence (TrueFISP) sequence. The RFID antenna was gradually moved closer to the isocenter of the MR scanner from 90 to 210 cm to investigate the influence of the distance. Furthermore, the RF was gradually changed between 865 and 869 MHz for a distance of 90 cm, 150 cm, and 210 cm to the isocenter of the magnet to investigate the influence of the frequency. The specific spatial resolution was measured with and without a permanent line of sight (LOS). After the modification of the reader, no significant change of the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) could be observed with increasing distance of the RFID tracking system to the isocenter of the MR scanner. Also, different radio frequencies of the RFID tracking system did not influence the SNR of the MR-images significantly. The specific spatial resolution deviated on average by 8.97 ± 7.33 mm with LOS and 11.23 ± 12.03 mm without LOS from the reference system. The RFID tracking system had no relevant influence on the MR-image quality. RFID tracking solved the LOS problem. However, the spatial accuracy of the RFID tracking system has to be improved for medical usage.

An ant colony based optimization for RFID reader deployment in theme parks under service level consideration

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tracking systems have been implemented in theme parks to help visitors find lost family or group members. When a visitor enters a park, he/she is assigned a wristband embedded with an active RFID tag. When the visitor passes through the coverage area of an RFID reader, the system can identify the visitor's location. However, few studies have examined the optimal deployment of RFID readers or discussed how to best evaluate the deployment quality of the tracking system. To address this need, an Ant Colony System (ACS)-based reader deployment method is proposed. First, the grid size, the quantity of readers, maximum reading distance of the readers, and visiting frequency of each grid should be decided or derived. Next, the ACS with incremental location setting (ACS-ILS) algorithm is developed to determine the best reader locations to maximize visiting frequency coverage and minimize reader collision. A service level index is then defined and used to evaluate the service quality of the RFID tracking system. The experimental results show that the proposed ACS-based reader deployment method and service level index can help managers determine the near optimal quantity and locations of readers for the RFID tracking system.

The structurational model of technology: The case of dow chemical's RFID tracking system for hazardous materials

In seeking the environmental sustainability in its outbound logistics operations, Dow Chemicals Company deployed an radio frequency identification (RFID) system to track shipments of its hazardous chemical products. This qualitative case study uses content analysis and the application of Orlikowski's theoretical framework called structurational model of technology based on Giddens' theory of structuration. Applying this theoretical framework results in a better understanding of how information technology (IT) interacts with organizational forces and vice versa.

RFID tracking implementation model for the technical trade and construction supply chains

Abstract The use of RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tracking has increased considerably in supply chain management during the past ten years. Despite the large diffusion of the technology, the use of RFID tracking has remained scarce in the construction industry despite the intense research. The particular design and temporary operating sites of the construction supply chains delay the diffusion, because the best-known RFID tracking systems in other industries are mainly designed to support the retailers' processes. The particular supply chain structure of construction industry, demands different business logic to build and gain benefits of RFID tracking systems. This paper presents RFID tracking implementation model for technical trade and construction industries. The approach for building feasible model was Technology Acceptance Model. The model design is based on the research project, where 16 manufacturing and wholesaler companies of technical trade were involved, and survey where customers of these manufacturers and wholesalers were interviewed.

Radio-Frequency Tracking of Respiratory Equipment: Rationale and Early Experience at the Cleveland Clinic

When respiratory therapists (RTs) seek respiratory care equipment, finding it quickly is desirable, both to expedite patient care and to avert RTs wasting time. To optimize RTs' ability to quickly locate ventilators, we developed and implemented a radio-frequency identification (RFID) tagging system called eTrak. The Clinical Engineering and Information Technology groups at Cleveland Clinic collaboratively developed a Wi-Fi-based RFID program that used active RFID tags. Altogether, 218 ventilators, 82 noninvasive ventilators, and various non-respiratory equipment were tagged, beginning in March 2010. We calculated the difference in time required to locate equipment before versus after implementation. The eTrak system had a mean 145 log-ons per week over the first year of use, and was associated with a decreased time required for RTs to locate ventilators: median 18 min (range 1-45 min) versus 3 min (range 1-6 min) (P < .001). Surveys of RTs regarding whether equipment was hard to find before versus after implementing eTrak showed a non-significant trend toward improvement. An RFID tracking system for respiratory equipment shortened the time to locate ventilators and non-significantly improved RT satisfaction with finding equipment. RFID tagging of equipment warrants further investigation.

Hybrid WSN and RFID indoor positioning and tracking system

Wireless sensor networks (WSNs), consisting of a large number of nodes to detect ambient environment, are widely deployed in a predefined area to provide more sophisticated sensing, communication, and processing capabilities, especially concerning the maintenance when hundreds or thousands of nodes are required to be deployed over wide areas at the same time. Radio frequency identification (RFID) technology, by reading the low-cost passive tags installed on objects or people, has been widely adopted in the tracing and tracking industry and can support an accurate positioning within a limited distance. Joint utilization of WSN and RFID technologies is attracting increasing attention within the Internet of Things (IoT) community, due to the potential of providing pervasive context-aware applications with advantages from both fields. WSN-RFID convergence is considered especially promising in context-aware systems with indoor positioning capabilities, where data from deployed WSN and RFID systems can be opportunistically exploited to refine and enhance the collected data with position information. In this papera, we design and evaluate a hybrid system which combines WSN and RFID technologies to provide an indoor positioning service with the capability of feeding position information into a general-purpose IoT environment. Performance of the proposed system is evaluated by means of simulations and a small-scale experimental set-up. The performed analysis demonstrates that the joint use of heterogeneous technologies can increase the robustness and the accuracy of the indoor positioning systems.

An RFID tracking system supporting the behavior analysis of colonial laboratory animals

Animal tracking and animal behavior analysis have a crucial impact in biomedical disciplines to study new pathologies and effects of new drugs. There are several solutions, based on different technologies such as GPS, radar, and vision, designed to obtain animals tracking systems, but they are effective mainly in presence of large size animals and outdoor environment. Unfortunately, they show poor performance when groups of small laboratory animals have to be monitored in indoor environments. In such a context, the adoption of passive Near Field (NF) Ultra High Frequency (UHF) Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology seems to be a winning approach, even though the straightforward use of commercial solutions does not guarantee satisfactory performance. Specifically, customized hardware and software solutions are then required. The main goal of this work is to present the development and then to validate a reliable and effective system for the automatic tracking of laboratory mice, based on suited NF UHF RFID hardware capturing system combined with an ad hoc software system able to guarantee hardware control, data processing, and reporting. In particular, the validation phase has been carried out by selecting the most appropriate RFID tags and by surgically implanting them into laboratory mice. Experimental results have demonstrated the efficiency of the proposed solution, which is able to gather data on the animal movements, allowing their subsequent processing for a satisfactory behavioral analysis.

A new laboratory radio frequency identification (RFID) system for behavioural tracking of marine organisms.

Radio frequency identification (RFID) devices are currently used to quantify several traits of animal behaviour with potential applications for the study of marine organisms. To date, behavioural studies with marine organisms are rare because of the technical difficulty of propagating radio waves within the saltwater medium. We present a novel RFID tracking system to study the burrowing behaviour of a valuable fishery resource, the Norway lobster (Nephrops norvegicus L.). The system consists of a network of six controllers, each handling a group of seven antennas. That network was placed below a microcosm tank that recreated important features typical of Nephrops’ grounds, such as the presence of multiple burrows. The animals carried a passive transponder attached to their telson, operating at 13.56 MHz. The tracking system was implemented to concurrently report the behaviour of up to three individuals, in terms of their travelled distances in a specified unit of time and their preferential positioning within the antenna network. To do so, the controllers worked in parallel to send the antenna data to a computer via a USB connection. The tracking accuracy of the system was evaluated by concurrently recording the animals’ behaviour with automated video imaging. During the two experiments, each lasting approximately one week, two different groups of three animals each showed a variable burrow occupancy and a nocturnal displacement under a standard photoperiod regime (12 h light:12 h dark), measured using the RFID method. Similar results were obtained with the video imaging. Our implemented RFID system was therefore capable of efficiently tracking the tested organisms and has a good potential for use on a wide variety of other marine organisms of commercial, aquaculture, and ecological interest.

A model for quantifying the value of RFID-enabled equipment tracking in hospitals

US hospitals spend millions of dollars on lost, misplaced and stolen equipment every year. Radio frequency identification (RFID) technology provides potential solutions to this problem. The nation’s top healthcare providers installing RFID have demonstrated the benefits of RFID. However, most other providers have not followed suit due to the lack of models available to provide measurable steps in successful RFID installation and sustainability, and to predict legitimate returns on investment. To respond this need, we propose a Markov chain model that could quantify the benefits of RFID from reducing equipment shrinkage and staff time of searching for equipment and increasing equipment utilization in hospitals. Using the proposed Markov chain model, a sensitivity analysis is conducted to investigate the performance improvement by RFID-enabled equipment tracking in a hospital. Our results demonstrate that an RFID-enabled equipment tracking system could significantly increase equipment utilization. In addition, the proposed model may be used to evaluate the equipment preparation and maintenance policies in hospitals with RFID, and could be easily extended to quantifying the benefits of RFID tracking systems in other industries.

Demonstration (DEMO) of radiofrequency identification (RFID) system for tracking and monitoring of nuclear materials

The US Department of Energy (DOE) [Environmental Management (EM), Office of Packaging and Transportation (EM-45)] Packaging Certification Program (PCP) has developed a radiofrequency identification (RFID) tracking and monitoring system for the management of nuclear materials packages during storage and transportation. The system, developed by the PCP team at Argonne National Laboratory, involves hardware modification, application software development, secured database and web server development, and irradiation experiments. In April 2008, Argonne tested key features of the RFID tracking and monitoring system in a weeklong, 1700 mile (2736 km) demonstration employing 14 empty type B fissile material drums of three designs (models 9975, 9977 and ES-3100) that have been certified for shipment by the DOE and the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The demonstration successfully integrated global positioning system (GPS) technology for vehicle tracking, satellite/cellular (general packet radio service, or GPRS) technologies for wireless communication, and active RFID tags with multiple sensors (seal integrity, shock, temperature, humidity and battery status) on drums. In addition, the demonstration integrated geographic information system (GIS) technology with automatic alarm notifications of incidents and generated buffer zone reports for emergency response and management of staged incidents. The demonstration was sponsored by EM and the US National Nuclear Securitymore » Administration, with the participation of Argonne, Savannah River and Oak Ridge National Laboratories. Over 50 authorised stakeholders across the country observed the demonstration via secured Internet access. The DOE PCP and national laboratories are working on several RFID system implementation projects at selected DOE sites, as well as continuing device and systems development and widening applications beyond DOE sites and possibly beyond nuclear materials to include other radioactive materials.« less