PORTABLE RFID TAGGED CARRIER FOR STERILE IMPLANTS AND BIOLOGICAL PRODUCTS

• US 20130106607A1
• Filed: 10/26/2011
• Published: 05/02/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 10/26/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Warsaw Orthopedic Incorporated (Medtronic Plc)
• Original Assignee: Warsaw Orthopedic Incorporated (Medtronic Plc)
• Inventors: Clement, Wesley J., Tethrake, Steven M.
• Granted Patent: US 9,307,756 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/572.1
• CPC Class Codes: A01N 1/0236 Mechanical aspects
• CPC Class Codes: A01N 1/0273 Transport containers A01N1/0268 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 10/0096 Casings for storing test samples A61B10/0038 and A61B10/0045 take precedence; preservation of living parts of the human or animal body A01N1/02; containers for retaining a material to be analysed B01L3/50; containers for enzymology or microbiology C12M1/16; swab-sampler being part of enzymology or microbiology container C12M1/30
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2200/147 Employing temperature sensors
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2200/18 Transport of container or devices
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 3/545 for laboratory containers
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/07758 arrangements for adhering the record carrier to further objects or living beings, functioning as an identification tag
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10366 the interrogation device being adapted for miscellaneous applications
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/08 Logistics, e.g. warehousing, loading or distribution; Inventory or stock management
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/20 for the management or administration of healthcare resources or facilities, e.g. managing hospital staff or surgery rooms
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/67 for remote operation

Abstract

Intelligent portable carrier device for supporting movement in product tracking and monitoring of regulated products, such as tissue and biologics. Embodiments of the invention use product identification technology, such as radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags and readers, to uniquely identify the regulated products as they are added to or removed from the intelligent portable carrier device. Embodiments of the invention may also be configured to monitor and report temperature and other environmental conditions associated with the intelligent portable carrier device.

Claims

1. An intelligent portable carrier device comprising a housing including a lid-closure mechanism, the housing configured to hold regulated products, the device configured to facilitate movement in product tracking and monitoring of said regulated products using product identification technology to uniquely identify the regulated products as they are added to or removed from the device.

2. The intelligent portable carrier device of claim 1, wherein the product identification technology comprises radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology.

3. The intelligent portable carrier device of claim 2, wherein the regulated products are RFID tagged prior to being placed inside the carrier device.

4. The intelligent portable carrier device of claim 1, further comprising a global positioning receiver module for receiving signals from a global positioning system (GPS) and determining a location of said intelligent portable carrier device.

5. The intelligent portable carrier device of claim 1, further comprising at least one sensor module for monitoring an environmental condition within the intelligent portable carrier device.

6. The intelligent portable carrier device of claim 1, further comprising:

a plurality of RFID transponders for tagging each regulated product stored within the device;

a plurality of RFID readers for communicating with the corresponding plurality of RFID transponders;

a plurality of antennas interfaced with the plurality of RFID readers configured to communicate radio frequency (RF) signals with the plurality of RFID transponders; and

at least one processor in communication with the RFID readers, configured for;

i. generating event-identifying codes in response to detecting the presence or absence of an RFID tagged regulated product within the device; and

ii. generating environmental condition related event codes in response to changes in the environmental condition of the device.

7. The intelligent portable carrier device of claim 1, wherein said housing further comprises interior walls constructed from an RF absorptive material to contain RF emitted energy.

8. The intelligent portable carrier device of claim 6, wherein the absorptive material is carbon fiber.

9. A method for providing improved product tracking and monitoring of regulated products, such as sterile implants and biological products in an intelligent portable carrier device comprising a housing, including a lid-closure mechanism, the housing configured to hold the regulated products, the method comprising:

affixing a product identification tag to at least one regulated product initialized with at least a product ID code unique to the product type and a serial number unique to the specific product or object;

placing the at least one tagged regulated product into a container of a carrier;

placing the at least one product identification reader into said container;

scanning the product identification tag with a scanning device to determine the product ID code and serial number;

receiving the scanned data from said scanner into a local processor;

transmitting said scanned data from said local processor through an electronic data network to a tracking server; and

creating a data record on said tracking server to contain said scanned data.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the product identification tag is a radio-frequency identification (RFID) tag.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the scanning device is an RFID reader.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein the step of scanning the product identification tag with a scanning device to determine the product ID code and serial number is performed periodically.

13. The method of claim 9, further comprising a step of continuously monitoring at least one environmental condition in the housing proximal to the regulated products.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the environmental condition is temperature.

15. The method of claim 9, further comprising a step of generating an event-identifying code in response to detecting that a tagged regulated product has been added to or removed from a compartment of the intelligent portable carrier device which houses the regulated products.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising storing the event-identifying code in an internal memory associated with a processor of the intelligent portable carrier device.

17. The method of claim 9, further comprising a step of generating an environmental condition change related code in response to a change in a monitored environmental condition in a compartment of the intelligent portable carrier device which houses the regulated products.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising storing the environmental condition change related code in an internal memory associated with a processor of the intelligent portable carrier device.

19. The method of claim 9, wherein the step of transmitting said scanned data from said local processor through an electronic data network to a tracking server comprises wirelessly transmitting said scanned data to a server of an existing back-end inventory tracking system via a transceiver of the intelligent portable carrier device.

20. The method of claim 9, further comprising receiving signals from a global positioning system and determining a location of the intelligent portable carrier device from the received signals.