Many hospitals are implementing one-off systems to achieve a specific aim, such as identifying patients or tracking one type

of assets. While these system can achieve significant benefits, implementing RFID infrastructure that can be used to track patients, assets, surgical instruments that need to be decontaminated and other applications can profoundly improve a hospitals bottom line. I propose e take an infrastructure approach to RFID and implement for applications of patient identification, tracking surgical instruments and asset management. Devices and enterprise systems need to integrate ith your RFID soft are. !he biggest delay in most RFID implementations can be attributed to RFID soft are configuration and integration. "nce you have determined your hard are needs and configuration specifications your RFID infrastructure should not be a bottleneck as long as you employ and e#perienced implementation team. $o ever, from a systems standpoint, every RFID implementation is some hat uni%ue. RFID middle are also happens to be the least mature component of any RFID solution stack. &nd users should take great care designing their RFID systems architecture and selecting RFID middle are. 'o one RFID middle are vendor can meet all client needs ell, so trade offs are an inevitable part of finding a good fit for your needs. (s a testament to the variability of end user re%uirements, "DI' technologies has orked on RFID implementations ith si# different RFID middle are solutions, none of hich could have orked ell across all of the solutions. It is orth e#tra time to make sure that the RFID middle are you choose can meet your platform, orkflo , rules, user interface, device support, data management and integration re%uirements. )pecifically, (tlas aims to be your *turnkey* partner for integrating RFID into your current operational systems. We offer the follo ing services+ RFID )olution (rchitecture RFID )ystems Design RFID &%uipment Installation RFID )olution Integration RFID )olution !raining RFID &%uipment Maintenance and ,ustomer )upport RFID )olutions ,onsulting RFID )ecurity (ssessment Most companies ill need to hire a systems integrator to install the readers, determine the right placement of tags for products and make sure that they are feeding data to the middle are in the right format. RFID systems can be tricky to install in a ay that provides accurate reads because many factors affect the ability to read a tag, including the placement of the tag, placement of antennas and type of antennas. ,ompanies ill also need to invest in training for their employees, particularly engineering staff ho ill manage readers in manufacturing and arehouse facilities, and I! staff ho ill ork on the systems that manage RFID data. !he costs can be significant, particularly at this stage hen the industry is very immature. In a report published in March -../, Forester Research estimated that it ould cost a 01- billion consumer products goods manufacturer 01-2,... for consulting and integration, 0314,... for the time of the internal pro5ect team and 02.,... for tag and reader testing. (s the technology improves and is more idely adopted, costs ill come do n and the technology ill be easier to install. Middleware and Servers Middle are is a generic term used to describe soft are that resides bet een the RFID reader and enterprise applications. It6s a critical component of any RFID system, because the middle are takes the ra data from the reader7a reader might read the same tag 1.. times per second7filters it and passes on the useful event data to back-end systems. Middle are plays a key role in getting the right information to the right application at the right time.

!here are many RFID middle are products on the market. (ll do some basic filtering, but many also perform additional functions. )ome middle are manages RFID readers+ It monitors their health, configures them, sends soft are updates and so on. "ther middle are may manage the data recorded in databases for enterprise applications to use. (nd some middle are has its o n applications, often for a specific industry. "ne application might be confirmation of shipment and receipt. When a product is sent to a retailer, the middle are confirms the shipment and sends an electronic message to the retailer ith the &8,s in the shipment. When the retailer receives the goods, receipt is confirmed and a message is sent to the supplier. !he retailer doesn6t need to be running the same middle are because most RFID middle are is based on standardi9ed Internet languages, such as :M;, and protocols, such as )imple "b5ect (ccess 8rotocol. <For an in-depth look at RFID middle are and the leading providers, subscribers should read RFID to &R8+ !he ;and =et een>. !he cost of middle are varies from vendor to vendor and is usually based on the number of locations here it ill be installed, the comple#ity of the application and many other factors. Forrester Research put the cost of middle are at 0123,... for a 01- billion manufacturer looking to meet the RFID tagging re%uirements of a ma5or retailer. ,ompanies ill also need to purchase servers to run middle are ithin a arehouse, distribution center or production facility. !hese servers are sometimes called edge servers, because they are close to the edge of the net ork here the digital orld meets the real orld. &dge servers are standard computer servers. !hey typically do not have any special hard are, and they connect to readers using serial or ?niversal )erial =us <?)=> ports. Enterprise Applications !he goal of any RFID system is to generate data that can be acted on to boost efficiency, cut costs or provide other business benefits. !hat means that companies ill need to invest in enterprise applications that can make use of RFID data. Warehouse management soft are providers, such as Manhattan (ssociates and Red8rairie, have upgraded their applications to manage the uni%ue serial numbers in RFID tags. &nterprise resource planning soft are providers, such as )(8 and "racle, are also orking to upgrade their applications. It6s likely that soft are ill evolve as RFID adoption spreads and companies learn ho to use RFID data to improve their operations. !he cost of these applications vary depending on the number of *seats*7ho many users ill access the application7the number of locations @@@ and other factors. EPCglobal Network Infrastructure !he vision of the (uto-ID ,enter, hich created the &lectronic 8roduct ,ode, as to have a global net ork infrastructure7a layer integrated ith the Internet7that ould enable companies to look up basic information about items as they moved through the global supply chain. (dditional data ould be stored in secure databases, so supply chain partners could share information about the location of products !hey are useful hen activities are regular and ell defined, and re%uirements for data storage and security are limitedA hen accesses are fre%uent, continuous or unpredictable, there are time constraints to meet or data processing <internal searches, for instance> to perform, active tags may be preferred. Many RFID tags include a built-in 6kill6 function. When provided ith the correct pass-code, a tag can be either reprogrammed or told to 6self destruct6, rendering it useless !he Electronic Product Code, <EPC>, is a family of coding schemes created as an eventual successor to the bar code. !he &8, as created as a lo -cost method of tracking goods using RFID technology. It is designed to meet the needs of various industries, hile guaranteeing uni%ueness for all &8,-compliant tags. &8, tags ere designed to identify each item manufactured, as opposed to 5ust the manufacturer and class of products, as bar codes do today. !he &8, accommodates e#isting coding schemes and defines ne schemes here necessary. Radio fre%uency identification is the ne#t ave in the evolution of computing. &ssentially, it6s a technology that connects ob5ects to Internet, so they can be tracked, and companies can share data about them. !he concept is simple+ 8lace a transponder7a microchip ith an antenna7on an item and then use a reader7a device ith one or more antennas7to read data off of the microchip using radio aves. !he reader passes

the information to a computer, so that the data can be used to create business value. (ctive tags have a read range of up to 3.. feet <1.. meters> and can be read reliably because they broadcast a signal to the reader <some systems can be affected by rain>. !hey generally cost from 01. to 04., depending on the amount of memory, the battery life re%uired, hether the tag includes an on-board temperature sensor or other sensors, and the ruggedness re%uired. ( thicker, more durable plastic housing ill increase the cost. 8assive tags can operate at lo fre%uency, high fre%uency and ultra-high fre%uency. ;o -fre%uency systems generally operate at 1-/ k$9, 1-4 k$9 or 134 k$9. $igh-fre%uency systems use 13.4B M$9, and ultra-high fre%uency systems use a band any here from 2B. M$9 to CB. M$9. )ome systems also use -./4 Dh9 and other areas of the radio spectrum. Radio aves behave differently at each of these fre%uencies, hich means the different fre%uencies are suitable for different applications. We6ll e#plain a little bit about the different fre%uencies, but it6s useful to think of lo fre%uency aves as the aves that reach your radio. !hey can penetrate alls ell, but can6t go through metal. ;o -fre%uency tags are ideal for applications here the tag needs to be read through material or ater at close range <more about read range in a minute "rderI'D a radio fre%uency identification system involves a lot more than purchasing the right tags and installing the right readers <see =asics of RFID !echnology>. !o get business value from the all of the information collected, companies ill need middle are to filter the data. !hey may need to upgrade enterprise applications and integrate it ith RFID middle are. &ach component ill have up-front costs and some une#pected costs. It6s not possible to provide a list of every element that every company ill need and the cost of those systems, but e6ll e#plain each of the ma5or components, provide some guidelines on costs and point out here there might be some hidden costs. Eeep in mind that every company6s needs7and every application 7are different, so costs ill vary idely from implementation to implementation. ?$F readers range in price from 04.. to 03,..., depending on their functionality. !he cost of middle are varies from vendor to vendor and is usually based on the number of locations here it ill be installed, the comple#ity of the application and many other factors. Forrester Research put the cost of middle are at 0123,... for a 01- billion manufacturer looking to meet the RFID tagging re%uirements of a ma5or retailer. I 8R"8")& !$(! W& IM8;&M&'! RFID as a trial base in our surgical department for 1- Months If ide-scale RFID adoption is around the corner, ho do you take the ne#t step@ $ere are si# tips for e#ploring the future of RFID+ 1. !ake your time, and formulate a strategy. *!he challenge most organi9ations are facing is choosing a short-term or long-term plan,* says Feff Richards, of Geri)ign. ?sing RFID data has the potential to replace use of bar codes as the standard method for identifying and tracking items in a supply chain. If you don6t consider those implications, you may find yourself replacing or significantly upgrading your RFID sooner than you e#pect. -. If meeting a customer6s RFID re%uirements is the only thing driving your use of the technology, consider using a third party to apply RFID tags after your products leave your arehouse. !his ill allo you to comply ithout having to make a partial, isolated investment in an RFID systemA ill buy you time to fully consider your approach to the technologyA and ill ultimately save you time and money. 3. Find an off-the-shelf solution. If you install a soft are solution that has been designed around emerging RFID best practices, you can save a lot of time and money compared to designing something from scratch . . . /. . . . but make sure it connects ith your e#isting &R8 system. If you create an isolated RFID infrastructure to address a specific business demand such as customer compliance, you on6t be getting the added value of business intelligence that comes from combining data from different parts of your organi9ation.

4. Det creative ith tag purchases. RFID tag prices have fallen in recent years, but they6re still pricey. ,onsider buying tags in volume to negotiate a better price. If your RFID infrastructure is evolving, consider teaming up ith other companies in your supply chain to buy together in volume. B. Eeep it simple. (n RFID system ill re%uire you to collect more information about your enterprise, but don6t get carried a ay. Don6t feel like you have to read a tag 1. times per second, 5ust because you can. Hour reporting systems are going to eliminate duplicate data any ay. ;ook for efficient ays to get hat you need in order to limit the ne demands !ag ,hip tags consist of a microchip and a coupling element - an antenna. Most tags are only activated hen they are ithin the interrogation 9one of the interrogatorA outside they *sleep*. ,hip tags can be both readonly <programmed during manufacture> or, at higher comple#ity and cost, read- rite, or both. ,hip tags contain memory. !he si9e of the tag depends on the si9e of the antenna, hich increases ith range of tag and decreases ith fre%uency. Interrogator Depending on the application and technology used, some interrogators not only read, but also remotely rite to, the tags. For the ma5ority of lo cost tags <tags ithout batteries>, the po er to activate the tag microchip is supplied by the reader through the tag antenna hen the tag is in the interrogation 9one of the reader, as is the timing pulse - these are kno n as passive tags. Middle are Middle are is the interface needed bet een the interrogator and the e#isting company databases and information management soft are. ID!ech&# market research sho s that -.I of the money spent on RFID in -..B involves active RFID but -/I of the fund raising and ac%uisition that e have e#amined involves active RFID. !he net orks that e#ist today to support bar codes ill more than likely be able to support RFID. RFID and bar codes are both technologies that deliver data to a host systemA ho ever, there is a main point of difference. =ar codes utili9e one- ay seriali9ed and periodic data. RFID is t o- ay. Data passes from the tag to the readerJencoder and then can pass back again, depending on the application or need to update the tag. Data can be delivered from multiple tags effectively in parallel, and7 by virtue of not re%uiring human intervention7can provide more data in real time. !here needs to be bridge soft are, or middle are, incorporated into the overall architecture to prevent the amount of data that hits the system at the same time from over helming it. )o RFID re%uires data filtering and data-flo management, to turn parallel, t o- ay data into the seriali9ed data that a legacy system can handle. !hese functions can be also partially handled by the printerJencoders and readers. (nother consideration7the need for more band idth in the net ork7depends on ho much RFID increases the overall amount of data flo ithin the net ork. If e#isting net orks can handle the additional traffic ith the speed re%uired by the applications, they should not necessarily need to be upgraded or be any more comple#. Error! Filename not specified What obstacles today have been encountered that ill not allo use of RFID@ Error! Filename not specified ,learly, physics plays a role here. ( product may need to be re-engineered ith ne packaging or a ne design in order to achieve optimal performance =ack to !op

from an applied RFID system. "r a business process may need to be changed in order to remove obstacles that prevent RFID used in a specific case. !here also has been a lot of discussion about li%uids and metals inhibiting RFID from orking ell, but ork-around strategies have lessened this as a mitigating factor. (t this time, no significant barriers have emerged that ould prevent implementing and using RFID technology in a variety of applications.