At Erlangen University Hospital in Germany, T-Systems is fitting blood products and medical equipment with active UHF tags. These ‘smart objects’ are designed to make day-to-day hospital processes more efficient and safer – without interfering with sensitive medical technology.

Professor Volker Weisbach is in the business of blood. When he opens a refrigerator at the Department of Transfusion Medicine at Erlangen University Hospital and takes out a blood product, it is in perfect condition. Red blood cells leave the blood bank at an optimal temperature of two to four degrees Celcius, destined for operating rooms or intensive care units. “These cells must not be stored at less than one or more than ten degrees Celcius,” explains Weisbach. And it is equally important that the right blood product gets to the right patient. While conventional medicines are highly standardized mass-made products, blood products are tailored to individuals. If a person receives blood that does not match their blood type, the results can be fatal. As Mephisto says in Goethe’s Faust, “Blood is a juice of rarest quality.”

“The logistics of blood transfusion is one of the most closely monitored hospital processes. Yet even in the 21st century, mistakes can happen,” points out Weisbach. In order to minimize the risks, Erlangen University Hospital is taking part in the OPAL Health project. This initiative forms part of the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology’s SimoBIT research program, aimed at developing secure mobile IT applications for midsize companies and public-sector agencies. T-Systems is playing an active role in the project, implementing an intelligent network of sensors in operating rooms and intensive care units using OPAL Health tags. This network allows blood products and other medical resources to communicate with each other wirelessly via the central IT system.

Monitoring the blood as it circulates

So how does it work? Before leaving the blood bank, blood products are fitted with a credit-card sized tag. The tag is connected to the bag by a cable tie and identifies it as designated for a specific patient. “This new technology helps us remain in constant contact with the blood products we send out, via a wireless connection,” explains Weisbach. Every few minutes, the smart radio chip sends updates on the current temperature to the blood bank’s central system. “This means, for the first time, we can intervene if the blood is not being stored correctly in transit or on the hospital ward,” continues Weisbach. And it is a highly significant development as hospitals can now trace blood supplies and ensure they have been kept in optimum conditions. In the past, if a blood product was not required, it would often be discarded became its temperature had altered in transit – now, thanks to OPAL Health, it can simply be returned to the bank for next time.

Once a blood product fitted with an OPAL Health tag arrives on the ward, a further important use of the technology comes into play. Before transfusion begins, the doctor holds the blood bag near the patient’s armband, which also has an integrated OPAL Health tag. The two tags make contact, and if everything is as it should be, a green light appears on the armband. “This additional safety mechanism further reduces the possibility of a mismatch during transfusion,” Weisbach remarks.

Part two of article