12 times faster blood sample track & trace with RFID labels

A manufacturer and service provider for end-user blood sampling uses RFID labels to make track & trace processes 12 times faster.

Challenge: Optimise blood sample track & trace

A manufacturer and service provider for fingerstick blood collection devices needed to automate its track & trace process to be able to manage increasing flows of blood samples sent in by growing numbers of customers. Samples are collected in tubes, and these are sent to various laboratory partners worldwide for testing. To be able to track every sample, our customer needed an automated solution linked to their existing ERP-system.

Solution: RFID labels, printer, software and scanner

Brady Corporation supplied B-7425 UHF RFID labels, label design software, a printer to print and encode the RFID labels, and a scanning box to check shipment accuracy.

The B-7425 UHF RFID label is made out of polypropylene and stays attached to tube surfaces. Its 45x30 mm dimensions enable it to fit blood tubes perfectly. The label is equipped with a UHF RFID antenna that provides a 6 metre read range. Every blood tube is labelled when it is received from an end-user.

We also supplied label design software and an RFID printer that enable our customer to print and encode all RFID labels at their premises. The code in the RFID chip is generated by the customer’s ERP-system via a custom software link created by Brady technicians. It enables our customer to implement full traceability without sharing any privacy-sensitive data.

Before a shipment of blood tubes is sent to a partner lab for analysis, it is placed in a custom ‘shipment box’, equipped with fixed AR 62 RFID scanners. Scanned data are displayed on the shipment box and sent to the customer’s ERP system to indicate which blood tubes are about to be shipped.

Results: Integrated blood sample track & trace

Our solution provides an integrated track & trace system for blood samples that enables employees to easily access shipment data. It eliminates human error and limits manual labour, resulting in a track & trace solution our customer reports to be 12x faster than manual barcode scanning. No line of sight is required, and this also enables faster, and more regular, inventory checks. Controlling and monitoring shipments has become a lot easier, and more efficient and shipment traceability data can be accessed in a couple of clicks.

Discover our full RFID solution!