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J Med Syst (2011) 35:14031412 DOI 10.1007/s10916-009-9417-z
ORIGINAL PAPER
A New Specimen Management System Using RFID Technology
Hun Shim & Young Uh & Seung Hwan Lee &
Young Ro Yoon
Received: 29 September 2009 /Accepted: 6 December 2009 /Published online: 29 January 2010 # Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2010
Abstract The specimen management system with barcode needs to be improved in order to solve inherent problems in work performance. This study describes the application of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) which is the solution for the problems associated with specimen labeling and management. A new specimen management system and architecture with RFID technology for clinical laboratory was designed. The suggested system was tested in various conditions such as durability to temperature and aspect of effective utilization of new work flow under a virtual hospital clinical laboratory environment. This system demonstrates its potential application in clinical laboratories for improving work flow and specimen management. The suggested specimen management system with RFID technology has advantages in comparison to the traditional specimen management system with barcode in the aspect of mass specimen processing, robust durability of temperature, humidity changes, and effective specimen tracking.
Keywords Specimen . Radio frequency identification (RFID) . Laboratory information system (LIS) . Specimen labeling . Specimen collection . Specimen transportation . Specimen management
Introduction
In the case of general hospitals, there are thousands of clinical laboratory tests performed daily and approximately tens of millions annually [1]. For a more accurate and faster laboratory test procedure, automation and computerization of the clinical laboratory workflow is mandatory. Most general hospitals operate by using the Hospital Information System (HIS) which includes the Order Communication System (OCS) and the Laboratory Information System (LIS) [2].
Clinical laboratory work is one which carries out various tests requested by physicians to aid in the disease diagnosis and prognosis of patients. This consists of the following four parts: specimen test request, specimen collection, sample testing, and result reporting. The key to efficient laboratory operations and proper aid to diagnosis is having automation at each step.
In LIS, specimen management refers to all stages including sampling, specimen collection, transportation, and storage. Likewise, in clinical laboratories, specimen management is a complex procedure [3] that operates by integrating works in a number of different areas. The...