February 7, 2005
Gerard Voland
Imagine being admitted to a hospital in which one of the first actions taken is the insertion of an identification microchip under your skin that will allow the medical staff to continuously monitor and coordinate all of your clinical care.
Within the next few years, manufacturers will be better able to track each item that they produce throughout the distribution chain, airplanes and other large-scale systems will be better maintained, and hospitals will be better able to care for their patients through the sub-dermal insertion of chips – all thanks to radio frequency identification technology.
RFID is the next giant step beyond bar codes. RFID chips can be attached to manufactured goods – or even inserted into people – so that these tagged items or people can be located at any time.
The world’s largest retailer, Wal-Mart, and the U. S. Department of Defense mandated that their primary suppliers begin attaching RFID tags to delivered goods by Jan. 1 of this year, reflecting the high expectations for this new technology by both industry and the government. RFID goes beyond bar codes in maintaining inventory control by allowing anyone in the distribution chain to immediately trace and track an item, thereby improving efficiencies throughout the system and increasing productivity.
The first flight of the new double-decker Airbus A380, the world’s largest aircraft with 555 passenger seats, is scheduled for May. Airbus began using RFID tags to track its ground equipment several years ago, and for the A380 the company is attaching 10,000 RFID chips to removable parts throughout the plane. Inspection reports, maintenance checks and other operations will be completed much more rapidly through this new technology.
However, RFID could make its most dramatic imprint in health and hygiene. Hospitals might use tags to ensure that staff members wash their hands between patients to minimize the spread of infection. And the U. S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the use of RFID chips in surgeries. By temporarily implanting a tiny chip below the skin of a patient, hospitals will be better able to ensure that the proper medications, in the correct dosages, are dispensed and that the correct surgical procedures are performed.
RFID also is expected to help the war on counterfeit pharmaceutical drugs. It is estimated that 7 percent of medicinal drugs might be bogus. By tagging genuine pharmaceuticals via RFID, the distribution chain will be better able to identify and eliminate the counterfeit drugs, thereby protecting the public from potentially dire consequences. Both the FDA and the pharmaceutical industry are active in this effort.
As more retailers, manufacturers and other industries embrace RFID, the worldwide production of tags, readers and other equipment will need to grow enormously. Moreover, because RFID will provide us with the capability of collecting and evaluating immense amounts of assorted data, we will need to understand the types of data that are most valuable and the ways in which to best use this information.
The proper integration of RFID into business practices will require significant experimentation, review and revision. And in the area of health care, society will need to address such issues as patient privacy, data security and the limitations of technology in enhancing medical treatment.
And finally, society will need to recognize the effect that RFID advances will have on the capabilities and responsibilities expected of tomorrow’s workers. Increased efficiencies and productivity in manufacturing and distribution will change both the types and the numbers of jobs in various industries, and we will need to prepare for a smooth transition to this future world of RFID.
Gerard Voland is the dean of the School of Engineering, Technology and Computer Science at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne. Send questions and comments to volandg@ipfwe.edu .
http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/journalgazette/living/10837745.htm