Study Published in JAMA on RFID Interference Ignores Real-World Use Cases, According to SkyeTek

    WESTMINSTER, Colo., July 14 /EMWNews/ --



    News Facts:

    -- A study published last week in the Journal of the American Medical

       Association (http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/short/299/24/2884)

       reported that RFID systems can cause "potentially hazardous incidents

       in medical devices" used in hospitals. Unfortunately, the report

       ignores mainstream passive RFID readers in favor of an uncommonly

       high-powered RFID reader used at an uncommonly close distance.

    -- SkyeTek, Inc. (http://www.skyetek.com), a leading provider of passive

       RFID reader technology, sees the study as making a strong case for the

       upper limit of passive UHF output power (2 - 4 Watts) around medical

       devices. However, it is important to note the study does not test for

       today's most common passive UHF use cases which call for RFID reader

       output power anywhere from 0.25 Watt to 1 Watt, the maximum allowed by

       the FCC.  By comparison, one of today's most popular cell phone models

       emits 1.59 Watts.

    -- The study also ignores the HF frequency entirely which comprises a

       substantial, if not the largest, portion of passive RFID technology

       used in hospitals today.  The potential EMI coming from passive HF RFID

       readers is significantly less than that coming from their UHF

       counterparts.





    Key Takeaways:

    -- The passive UHF RFID reader used in the study is an unrepresentative

       product used unconventionally.

       -- Although the reader model was not specified in the study, it is most

          likely the Feig ID ISC.LRMU2000 Fixed UHF Long Range Reader Unit

          which has a maximum of 3 Watts of output power.  The vast majority

          of passive UHF RFID readers sold today are readers that emit 1 Watt

          or less of output power at the antenna (i.e., not including antenna

          gain).

       -- The reason why the industry has standardized around 1 Watt is

          straightforward:

          -- 1 Watt is the maximum UHF RFID output power as specified by the

             FCC in North America as well as several other major countries

             around the world.

          -- Readers capable of 1 Watt are capable of reading RFID tagged

             inventory and assets several meters away -- plenty of range for

             the majority of tracking applications.

       -- In the event that a 3 Watt reader is necessary, the presumption is

          that there is a requirement to track items well in excess of the

          5m - 10m that a mainstream 1 Watt reader is capable.  Yet, the study

          finds the vast majority of its EMI at 0.5m or less, distances for

          which a 3 Watt reader would not realistically be used.

    -- The study also ignores passive HF RFID, which is a substantial, if not

       the dominant, type of RFID used in hospitals.

       -- HF RFID operates at 13.56 MHz, typically operates at lower power

          levels than UHF, and uses the magnetic portion of the radio wave to

          communicate between reader and tag.

       -- These characteristics make HF much less susceptible to EMI with

          adjacent devices than UHF.

       -- This is the same technology used for security badge access into

          offices and buildings.





    Quotes from Rob Balgley, CEO of SkyeTek

    -- "We feel it is important to provide clarification around the results of

       this study because RFID continues to drastically improve patient care

       in the healthcare industry."

    -- "While the results do a good job of indicating a limit to the amount of

       RF power applied around medical devices, the test did not account for

       the most common uses of RFID today."

    -- "On top of that, none of our experiences with readers used in hospital

       deployments are near the amount of power that the readers in this study

       required. If you wanted to show EMI due to passive RFID, you would go

       out of your way to pick the reader that was used in the study. If you

       wanted to represent the market, you would have chosen a lower powered

       reader."

    -- "Despite its flaws, we do see the study as a call to action for

       standardization around RFID in hospitals, particularly as it relates to

       power requirements. This would certainly benefit the industry in the

       long run providing a commonly understood framework for how best to

       employ RFID in healthcare."



    For detail on other studies on RFID and its use in healthcare

environments, please visit

http://www.wirelesshealthcare.co.uk/wh/news/wk29-08-0003.htm.



    Please contact Kristin Cronin at [email protected] to arrange for

further quotes regarding this study or to request an interview with a

SkyeTek executive.

    About SkyeTek, Inc.



    SkyeTek, Inc. develops reader hardware and software that enables the

pervasive adoption of RFID as intelligent networking technology. Numerous

Fortune 500 and mid-market customers use SkyeTek's products in applications

such as item-level inventory, product authentication, access control, and

patron management. In addition to selling SkyeModule readers, SkyeTek

licenses SkyeWare software that allows customers to save 40 - 70% compared

to the price of common reader modules available in the market today. Based

in Westminster, Colo., SkyeTek sells exclusively through OEMs, systems

integrators, and distributors. For more information, visit

http://www.skyetek.com.



    Tagnostic(R), ReaderWare(TM), and SkyeModule(TM), the SkyeTek logo,

SkyeTek(R) and SkyeWare(TM) are trademarks or registered trademarks of

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