'Hospital risk' from radio tags

[TechBear_Seattle]

'Hospital risk' from radio tags

Lifesaving equipment in hospitals may be switched off by radio-frequency devices used to track people and machines, Dutch scientists claim.

Radio frequency identification devices (RFIDs) are on the rise in healthcare, helping identify patients, and reveal the location of equipment.

The Journal of the American Medical Association study found they could interfere with machines.

...

The latest research, conducted at Vrije University in Amsterdam, tested the effect of holding both "passive" and powered RFIDs close to 41 medical devices, including ventilators, syringe pumps, dialysis machines and pacemakers.

A total of 123 tests, three on each machine, were carried out, and 34 produced an "incident" in which the RFID appeared to have an effect - 24 of which were deemed either "significant" or "hazardous".

In some tests, RFIDs either switched off or changed the settings on mechanical ventilators, completely stopped the working of syringe pumps, caused external pacemakers to malfunction, and halted dialysis machines.

The device did not have to be held right up to the machine to make this happen - some "hazardous" incidents happened when the RFID was more than 10 inches away.

The full article can be read at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7471008.stm

[Wilms]

1. Not good.

That said, I wonder if the affected equipment is unreasonably sensitive, and easily shielded.

[eppur_se_muova]

2. Hey, let's clutter the radio spectrum with every gadget we can think of -- what could go wrong? nt