Adhoc electromagnetic compatibility testing of non-implantable medical devices and radio frequency identification

BioMedical Engineering OnLine

Joshua W Guag¹  Seth J Seidman¹ 

[1]10903 New Hampshire Ave, White Oak Bldg 62 Room 1134, Silver Spring, MD 20993, USA

关键词: Medical device;    RFID;    Radio-frequency identification;    EMI;    EMC;    Electromagnetic interference;    Electromagnetic compatibility;   

Others  :  797443
DOI  :  10.1186/1475-925X-12-71

 received in 2013-03-29, accepted in 2013-07-01,  发布年份 2013

【 摘 要 】

Background

The use of radiofrequency identification (RFID) in healthcare is increasing and concerns for electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) pose one of the biggest obstacles for widespread adoption. Numerous studies have documented that RFID can interfere with medical devices. The majority of past studies have concentrated on implantable medical devices such as implantable pacemakers and implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs). This study examined EMC between RFID systems and non-implantable medical devices.

Methods

Medical devices were exposed to 19 different RFID readers and one RFID active tag. The RFID systems used covered 5 different frequency bands: 125–134 kHz (low frequency (LF)); 13.56 MHz (high frequency (HF)); 433 MHz; 915 MHz (ultra high frequency (UHF])) and 2.4 GHz. We tested three syringe pumps, three infusion pumps, four automatic external defibrillators (AEDs), and one ventilator. The testing procedure is modified from American National Standards Institute (ANSI) C63.18, Recommended Practice for an On-Site, Ad Hoc Test Method for Estimating Radiated Electromagnetic Immunity of Medical Devices to Specific Radio-Frequency Transmitters.

Results

For syringe pumps, we observed electromagnetic interference (EMI) during 13 of 60 experiments (22%) at a maximum distance of 59 cm. For infusion pumps, we observed EMI during 10 of 60 experiments (17%) at a maximum distance of 136 cm. For AEDs, we observed EMI during 18 of 75 experiments (24%) at a maximum distance of 51 cm. The majority of the EMI observed was classified as probably clinically significant or left the device inoperable. No EMI was observed for all medical devices tested during exposure to 433 MHz (two readers, one active tag) or 2.4 GHz RFID (two readers).

Conclusion

Testing confirms that RFID has the ability to interfere with critical medical equipment. Hospital staff should be aware of the potential for medical device EMI caused by RFID systems and should be encouraged to perform on-site RF immunity tests prior to RFID system deployment or prior to placing new medical devices in an RFID environment. The methods presented in this paper are time-consuming and burdensome and suggest the need for standard test methods for assessing the immunity of medical devices to RFID systems.

【 授权许可】

   
2013 Seidman and Guag; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

【 图 表 】

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