Johnson & Johnson Finds Value in Multiple RFID Apps

With the implants inside each kit now RFID-tagged, DePuy has reduced the time required to process each returned Express Care set to less than one minute—a process that formerly took 10 to 30 minutes to complete. Employees place the kits on a conveyor that brings them through an RFID reader tunnel. After each kit moves through the tunnel, software shows the worker which components are missing from that kit. A completed kit is then sent through the tunnel once more prior to shipment, to verify that it is complete.

Rose also described how Cordis, a Johnson & Johnson company that manufactures coronary stents and similar medical devices, has engaged with RFID vendor WaveMark to develop an RFID system for tracking the stents. In this application, participating hospitals store the stents in special cabinets with RFID reader antennas built into the shelves. An RFID tag is attached to the packaging carrying each individual stent a hospital orders, and the cabinet takes periodic inventory of all tagged stents within the cabinet.

The hospital and Cordis can then monitor inventory levels, both to ensure that the hospital has the proper types and quantities of stents on hand to supply its needs at any particular time, and also to be sure stents are removed from stock when they reach their expiry date. The WaveMark system uses high-frequency (13.56 MHz) RFID tags compliant with the ISO 15693 standard, but Rose said Cordis intends to request that WaveMark migrate to the HF standard EPCglobal is currently working on, once that specification is ratified.

The Cordis/WaveMark application has improved stent availability and inventory management, and can be employed to help Cordis manage payments for the stents at hospitals purchasing them on consignment. In the future, Rose said, the company hopes to begin expanding the application to hospitals in Europe and Asia.

The Mercy Medical Center in Des Moines, Iowa, has deployed an RFID-based system provided by WaveMark for tracking stents provided by Edwards Lifesciences, an Irvine, Calif., manufacturer of heart valves and other health-care products (see Mercy Medical Tracks Cardiovascular Consumables).