Summary and Future Trends - Computational Intelligence in Biomedical Engineering - page 332

Another emerging technology is radio frequency identification (RFID), a
labeling technology, which has become increasingly deployed. This technology
is used primarily in the retail sector for the speedy handling of goods along a
supply chain. RFID tags enable identification of goods from a greater distance
than with standard bar code labeling. RFID is also capable of encoding more
information than standard bar codes, such as the manufacturer, product type,
and even measurements of temperature. It appears that RFID chips combine
identification and sensor technology, which enhance the supply-chain process
allowing the practice of just in time (JIT) policies (Roy, 2006). When com-
bined with databases and globally linked systems, RFID can pinpoint a unit
as it travels the supply chain from the manufacturing plant to the retail out-
let. These features are the driving force behind continued research into RFID
technology and it is finding more applications such as in hospitals. A hospital
could, for example, use RFID technology to tag blood samples. There are two
types of tags, active and passive, the former requires power whereas the latter
uses electromagnetic technology (near and far fields). The passive tag is more
easily used, it is cheaper, and can be printed by RFID printers, such as in
Figure 8.3.
FIGURE 8.3
The I-class RFID printer produced by Datamax. (www.datamaxcorp.com.)