A Smart Blood Bag Management System Using a Load-Integrated U-Shaped Near-Field RFID Antenna Array

• Published in: IEEE transactions on antennas and propagation Vol. 67; no. 3; pp. 1837 - 1843
• Main Authors: Jeong, Min-Gyo, Lee, Wang-Sang
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: IEEE 01.03.2019
• Subjects: Antenna arrays; Blood; Blood bag management system; load-integrated; Loaded antennas; Microstrip; near-field; radio frequency identification (RFID) antenna array; Radiofrequency identification; transfusion safety; U-shaped; UHF antennas
• ISSN: 0018-926X; 1558-2221
• DOI: 10.1109/TAP.2018.2884875

For improving transfusion safety, a smart blood bag management system using a load-integrated U-shaped near-field antenna (LUNA) array is proposed in this paper. The proposed system consists of four LUNAs for ID sensing with blood information and a switching circuit for the sensing of blood bag localization. The LUNA, which is well impedance-matched within the universal ultrahigh-frequency radio frequency identification band, operates in the near-field region for precise localization, and includes a lumped Lattice-type <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">LC </tex-math></inline-formula>-balun which is exploited to cancel out currents through the ground plane of the LUNA and to obtain opposite directional currents in order to reinforce the magnetic field between two microstrip lines in the LUNA. Using a single-pole four-throw switching circuit, a centimeter-level precise localization of blood bags can be achieved. The proposed system can be used to prevent the mishandling of blood transfusions and to manage blood bags remotely and effectively.