Design and implementation of a Radio Frequency IDentification (RFID) system for healthcare applications

Abstract

This paper presents the use of RFID technology in the healthcare sector. A highly sophisticated RFID system, which also incorporates advanced Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), was carefully designed in order to be implemented as a pilot project at the premises of the Bank of Cyprus Oncology Center (BOCOC) in Cyprus. The RFID system will be used for automatic and error-free patient identification through the use of RFID wristbands and/or tagequipped plastic cards, for Real Time Location Service (RTLS) in order to locate medical equipment (e.g., infusion pumps, walkers, wheelchairs, etc.) in the premises of the hospital, and inventory control for the pharmacy. The RFID technology that is used in this pilot project is based on the UHF-band EPC C1 Generation 2 data exchange protocol. A Graphical User Interface for a medical tablet PC was developed which interfaces the RFID hardware (e.g., stationary and handheld readers, RFID printers, etc.) with the everyday routine tasks of the hospital's medical personnel. The application platform developed by the research team is extremely easy-to-use by doctors and nurses, powerful, effective, and superior to traditional paper-bound processes. © 2010 International Federation for Medical and Biological Engineering.