US Army Tests RFID Technology for Medical Biodefense Management

   When the experimenter took some of the most sensitive biological samples stored in the laboratory from the freezer, even a minute would raise the temperature of the sample. This means that the process of manually inventorying the lab's inventory may pose a risk to the sample itself. As a result, the US Army Infectious Diseases Medical Research Institute (USAMRIID) has been testing an RFID-based solution for the past two years, allowing highly sensitive samples to be counted without leaving the freezer. The Institute is currently testing UHF RFID tags and readers in laboratories in Fort Detrick, Maryland.

    The goal of the institute is to use RFID to track all BSAT samples. The current research focuses on testing hardware components, including many UHF tags and handheld readers. This requires 100% accurate reading of the label. At the same time, the team is exploring whether it can be scanned without opening the freezer. Rahman said that if the label information can be transferred through the freezer, it can be faster and easier to inventory the sample.