IDENTEC SOLUTIONS Technology used to secure the safe analysis of medical samples.

Up to 30,000 blood and tissue samples arrive daily at the Medical Care Center of Dr. Stein & Kollegen, headquartered in Moenchengladbach, Germany for examination. The medical samples are transported from various doctors' offices, hospitals and other laboratories in approximately 600 special transport containers. Particular attention must be paid to shipping as temperature fluctuations can cause the transported samples to be unusable.  As a result, Dr. Stein & Kollegen ‘s Medical Care Centre’s laboratory  deployed a wireless sensor network that utilizes RFID technology to address particularly this issue.  The specifically designed system was the result a technology partnership that included IDENTEC SOLUTIONS and the system house PCO, who jointly developed a solution that documented transport and temperature gradation.

Automatic temperature control
Two and a half years ago, the team at Dr. Stein & Kollegen were searching for a solution that would simplify existing processes and provide a reliable quality assurance tool.  Preliminary consideration was also given to a manual temperature logger, and a recording device. However, the manual reading of the data would have caused a high staff effort and was open to error. For that reason, Dr. Stein & Kollegen’s  laboratory  decided instead to deploy an RFID based solution.

The project technology partners IDENTEC SOLUTIONS and PCO demonstrated what active transponders with a connected temperature sensor can achieve. "On the one hand, our technology is deployed for use in industrial labs for automated control of temperature-sensitive inventory, such as refrigerators and incubators," said Gerhard Schedler, CEO of IDENTEC SOLUTIONS, “And on the other, this system enables the very specific track and temperature monitoring of highly-sensitive medical sample containers during transport.  It is a clear reflection of how flexible our technology is, and the benefit of working with a partner to help deliver our customers the ultimate solution.”

High Quality
Additional safety features include an alarm system, which forwards an error message in an electronic form to supervising personnel. "If we will receive from a supplier, for example solvent for analysis, and during transport the predetermined temperature limits are not strictly adhered to, often times we will fine all samples unfortunately unusable," states Axel Klömpges, Head of Logistics at Dr. Stein + Kollegen. The  negative financial consequences of damaged samples as well as the challenge of dealing with lost or missing deliveries were instantly addressed with the IDENTEC SOLUTIONS and PCO system . Further benefit was achieved by eliminating the significant human resource burden previously required with tracking shipments. "With the introduction of the IDENTEC SOLUTIONS & PCO sytem,  we saved about 15 to 20 hours in comparison to a manual temperature readout," says Klömpges.

Since early March, the solution is fully deployed. And now the logistics manager is enthused: "The implementation of active RFID meant for us, a quantum leap in safety analysis."