Georgia Tech develops RFID test protocols

The Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) in Atlanta has begun developing testing protocols for radiofrequency identification (RFID) technology in the healthcare setting.

Recently, the widely used RFID systems have found their way into medical environments to track patients, equipment assets and staff members. However, there is currently no published standardized, repeatable methodology by which manufacturers of RFID equipment or medical devices can assess potential issues with electromagnetic interference and evaluate means to mitigate them.

The protocol development is being overseen by AIM Global, a trade association representing automatic identification and mobility technology solution providers, and also includes MET Laboratories, which provides testing and certification services for medical devices.

"A comprehensive set of test protocols, which are sufficiently precise to permit repeatable results, is required to understand if there is an interaction between various types of RFID systems and active implantable medical devices, electronic medical equipment, in vitro diagnostic equipment and biologics. Only after the protocols are developed will we be able to investigate the cause of any interactions, the result of any interactions, and ways manufacturers might eliminate or mitigate interactions," said Craig K. Harmon, president and CEO of Q.E.D. Systems and chairman of AIM Global's RFID Experts Group, which includes representatives from 40 organizations in the United States, Europe and Asia.

GTRI researchers will test how RFID systems affect the function of implantable and wearable medical devices, such as pacemakers, implantable cardioverter-defibrillators, neurostimulators, implantable infusion pumps and cardiac monitors.

Herkert and Gisele Bennett, director of GTRI's Electro-Optical Systems Laboratory, will evaluate and determine the best method for measuring whether interference takes place as a result of RFID emission in both active and passive RFID technologies covering the spectrum from low-frequency to ultra high-frequency.

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