RFID: Revolutionizing Patient Monitoring?
Friday, November 07, 2008 - RFID Connections

Bert Moore

Editor

 

There is a lot of talk about RFID in healthcare -- from patient identification to medical equipment tracking to pharmaceutical and the supply chain safety and efficiency.  But there's not that much talk about the patient except as an indirect beneficiary of the technology.

 

But that may be about to change. A synergistic combination of new sensor technologies, RFID and cell phones promises to usher in a new era of patient convenience, safety and, surprisingly, cost reduction.

 

Although mobile phones are not welcome in healthcare environments today because of their potential interference with medical equipment, they may, in fact, serve to replace some expensive medical monitoring equipment in the future.

 

Recent advances in sensor technology have resulted in disposable temperature sensing and non-invasive blood glucose monitoring "patches."  A variety of other healthcare sensors, ranging from heart monitors to blood pressure sensors are also being investigated.  In fact, the variety of sensors and monitoring devices is sure to grow, leveraging the development of increasingly specialized and sophisticated sensors for various biological and chemical agents that is being fostered by the ongoing need to detect toxic or hazardous materials in the environment.

 

The breakthrough in patient care is that these sensors can be RFID-enabled to communicate with a mobile phone via either high frequency (HF), near field communications (NFC) or ultra-high frequency (UHF).  This is not a futuristic vision; the temperature sensor has already been developed and the blood glucose monitor has been prototyped.  The key advantage is that the sensors communicate to the mobile phone, PDA or other cellular device that has processing power, memory and intelligence.

 

Alerts can be issued directly on the mobile device to notify the patient that insulin is low, or in the case of critical matters, over the cellular network to alert healthcare providers, family members, or emergency personnel of the condition.

 

Using disposable, passive RFID-enabled sensors and a mobile device to record or report a patient's condition takes advantage of existing technology and, in many cases, can eliminate the need for expensive, dedicated medical equipment or supplies.  It is estimated that a single, disposable blood glucose monitoring patch would have the capability to take samples every 15 minutes for a year at a significant savings over conventional testing supplies.  And without the need to draw blood.

 

Providing the patient with a personal monitor also frees him from the confines of attachment to a hospital monitor and provides mobility which, in many cases, is therapeutic in itself.  Reducing the hospital's requirement to provide a dedicated monitor for the patient also reduces the hospital's equipment costs.

 

While mobile phones are currently a problem in some healthcare environments, the patch or mobile device could also be configured to communicate via WiFi either in a healthcare environment or in a patient's home.

 

However, the benefits extend outside the walls of the healthcare facility.  These devices could routinely transmit sensor readings to a healthcare professional over the cellular network, providing continuous monitoring of patients.  Geo-location using the mobile device could also provide emergency personnel valuable information in the event of a health crisis.

 

For example, there are continual instances of people going into diabetic shock while driving, thereby endangering both themselves and other drivers.  The patient's mobile device could use geo-location to determine that it was in transit and notify police and emergency personnel of the patient's condition and location, thereby averting accidents and injury.  In the case of a heart attack or chronic life-threatening condition, having the mobile device notify both emergency personnel and the patient's primary physician in real time would permit the physician to communicate the patient's history and direct emergency personnel to take correct, immediate remedial action regardless of the patient's location.

 

Admittedly, a lot of development needs to be done to commercialize these monitors, develop specialized modules for mobile devices and mobile services, and connect with physicians, healthcare institutions and emergency personnel.   Nonetheless, the building blocks are there.  There is just, as is often the case, "some assembly required."

 

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Comments on this column?  E-mail me: Bert Moore, Editor.

 

 

 

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