Text: Carl Michener / ID BBN Images: Shutterstock & Nordic ID
Product: Nordic ID PL3000 UHF RFID
400 bags per second and drilling down to see all the information associated with any bag.
NORDIC ID: GREAT PRODUCT, SUPPORT, RELIABILITY
The total system consists of three parts. The first consists of fixed RFID scanners installed at the entrances of freezers and storage rooms that record what blood products are put into and taken out of storage. These installed scanners are integrated with the FBSTIB’s blood data bank, ensuring total accuracy in asset tracking.
Working with Nordic ID is a new relationship for Aifos, one the company chose based on equipment tests, but also for strategic reasons. “To tell you the truth, one of the reasons we chose Nordic ID is because they are Finnish,” says Esteve Jané. “This project is a very important one for Aifos, and we couldn’t afford problems with equipment orders and support. When a Finnish company says an order will arrive in ten days, you can expect it there on the afternoon of the ninth day.”
The second part involves Nordic ID PL3000 UHF RFID mobile computers, used to find the blood bags that staff members need; and the third part is the tags that contain a re-recordable Generation 2 RFID chip that permits addition of data at each step in a blood bag’s process. “The system we have developed promises to pay for itself very quickly in reduced operating costs once the full program launches in August 2010,” notes Jané. “It will also significantly increase safety,” he adds, “because donor ID cannot be erased, and
“The reading power regarding the distance and speed, the ability to carry a single charge all day and the user friendliness of the mobile computer is the reason why Nordic ID was chosen for the project.”
In addition to the mobile computer’s light weight, ability to carry a single charge all day and operate at -35°C, Jané also noted that it was the only mobile computer on the market that would indicate a tag’s distance from the reader, making locating much easier. But in working with Nordic ID, what Aifos appreciated most was the company’s level of technical support. “At the outset we needed to know that the mobile computer would work in subarctic temperatures,” says Jané, “and none of the companies we talked with had tested for that. Nordic ID support personnel did some investigation and explained how, technically, the Nordic ID PL3000 would stand up to the job. That convinced us, and since then support has been excellent.”
FAST FACTS RFID Application: Blood bank tracking in Spain’s Balearic Island Challenge: Find the right frozen bag of blood in thousands of crates Devices in use: Nordic ID PL3000 UHF mobile computers Specifications: 8-hour battery life; can operate at -35°C, 400+ scans per second Result: Decreased operating costs, greater safety & accuracy
www.aifos-solutions.com/eng
other memory banks can only be accessed by those with the correct passwords. So the information on a tag is complete, and depending on your level of authorization, you can read or modify only certain levels of it.” As well as increasing safety, the RFID system will help make better use of short-lived blood product resources. Today, if a 30-day old bag is requested, staff members may send a 28day old bag that fits the description in order to end their search more quickly, increasing the chance that the 30-day old blood will expire before it is used. But with the RFID system in place, inventory will be tracked in a transparent fashion, expediting the process and ensuring that the optimal blood bag is quickly found and put to use.
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