Healthcare RFID to track blood

The Klinikum Saarbruecken in Germany, which launched a landmark RFID pilot last year to identify patients, is now adding the track-and-trace chips to its blood supplies.

The trial extension, which is being conducted with Siemens Business Services, is intended to help medical staff cut clinical errors by verifying blood has reached the right patient using information held on the RFID tagged bags.

Each blood bag will carry a chip holding a unique identifier, which is linked to information held in a secure database. Nurses will be able to scan the tags using reader-equipped PDAs or tablet PCs and check the details on the blood match the information held on an RFID-tagged bracelet worn by the patient.

Currently, all patients admitted to Saarbruecken are given an RFID enabled bracelet. When scanned, the bracelet can identify the patient and help provide details of their medical history and treatment to date.

RFID has already proved popular in the healthcare industry as a means of tracking pharmaceutical products and preventing counterfeit stock entering the supply chain. Pfizer announced earlier this year it intends to adopt the technology to beat fake Viagra makers.

Healthcare is predicted to be one of the major growth areas for RFID. Recent research from analyst house Frost and Sullivan found that the revenue from RFID within healthcare and pharmaceuticals will rise almost six-fold in the coming years, from 2004's total of $370m to $2.3bn in 2011