RFID test protocols

Engineers at the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) recently began developing testing protocols for radio frequency identification (RFID) technology used in healthcare environments.

RFID systems are widely used for inventory management, package tracking, toll collection and airport luggage security applications. Such systems have also found their way into medical environments to track patients, equipment assets and staff members.

However, there is currently no published standard, repeatable method by which manufacturers of RFID equipment or medical devices can assess potential issues with electromagnetic interference and evaluate means to mitigate them.

The test protocol development is being overseen by AIM Global, the international trade association, and also includes MET Laboratories, a company that 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 medical equipment,' said Craig Harmon, president and chief executive of QED Systems and chairman of AIM Global’s RFID Experts Group, which has representatives from 40 organisations in the US, Europe and Asia.