Most of what you hear about RFID these days has people donning tinfoil hats. Many feel that privacy should not be the price to pay for personalization or supply chain management. But how about saving your life? Researchers at Stanford University have finished a pilot project in which surgical sponges were tagged using RFID to prevent the unfortunate "sewed up with a sponge inside" syndrome. If I've learned anything from Gray's Anatomy, it's that this can have nasty side effects. With tagged sponges, a quick scan with a reader will let surgeons know whether a sponge is somewhere it shouldn't be before suturing. Naturally, they're looking at tagging all sorts of surgical implements in addition to sponges. See: RFID to prevent loss of surgical sponges inside patients - Engadget.
Your best headline ever! 8-)
ReplyDeleteCheers,
Connie