Nota de prensa original en inglés
AIM Identifies RFID Healthcare Partners
Georgia Tech and MET Laboratories to Develop and Test Protocols for RFID in Healthcare Settings
AIM, the trade association recognized as the worldwide authority on automatic identification and mobility, today announced that protocols for testing RF emitters to ensure a benign effect in a healthcare setting will be developed and validated in collaboration with Georgia Tech Research Institute and MET Laboratories, Inc.
In 2008, it became apparent that vendors, device manufacturers, and laboratories should work together to define testing that is appropriate, thorough, and defined in a verifiable, repeatable manner. Recognizing this need, AIM Global’s RFID Experts Group (REG) established a work group to identify highly qualified, impartial testing facilities that had previous experience with both RFID and healthcare with whom AIM could partner to develop and validate rigorous test protocols.
Unlike previous tests of RF emitters in healthcare settings, the AIM Global Healthcare Initiative will establish baseline requirements for the proper operation of RF in terms of real-world applications. Additionally, it will provide a standardized, repeatable methodology by which manufacturers of RF equipment as well as medical device and clinical equipment manufacturers can assess potential issues and evaluate means to mitigate them.
RF emitting devices will be tested to observe if any negative events are recorded, and under what conditions they might occur, with medical devices and clinical equipment. Testing will also determine whether specific medical devices or individual types of clinical equipment are particularly susceptible to RF and if any corrective actions can be taken to mitigate such susceptibility.
At first, work will center on two test protocol suites:
• RF emissions and the susceptibility of medical devices (implantable and wearable) addressing conformance to AAMI PC69 (for pacemakers and ICDs) and other applicable standards
• RF emissions and clinical instrument susceptibility addressing conformance to IEC 60601-1-2, 60601-2-x, ANSI/IEEE C63.18, and ANSI/AAMI TIR-18
RF emissions from RFID products conforming to ISO/IEC 18000-2, ISO/IEC 18000-3, ISO/IEC 18000-4, ISO/IEC 18000-6, ISO/IEC 18000-7, ISO/IEC 24730-2, ISO/IEC 24730-5, Ultra Wide Band RF and WiFi will be part of the test protocol.
These test protocols will be submitted for validation by the FDA, after which a worldwide certification program will be launched and other test centers will be invited to participate.
Dr. Gisele Bennett of Georgia Tech and Mr. Ted Osinski of MET Laboratories will partner with AIM on the development of the Test Protocols.