High-frequency RFID tag survivability in harsh environments

A 2 kilobit memory RFID tag including a 13.56 MHz ISO 18000-3 mode 1 microchip bonded to an etched aluminum antenna was attached to the upper side of a blood bag with an FDA-compliant adhesive. Tags were subsequently tested for survivability after exposure to three main harsh processing conditions found in blood banks: (a) Three 10-minute cycles of centrifugation at 4750g; (b) -30°C blast freezing for 72 hours and (c) two consecutive 25 gray (Gy) Cs-137 gamma irradiation exposures. Survivability was measured with three criteria: (a) pass/fail ability to read and write the memory content (partial and full memory) at different distances (0 cm, 5 cm, and 10 cm) within a predefined time threshold, (b) Reliability (pass/fail) of the pre-encoded data (data integrity) and (c) ability to perform the read or write operation successfully (pass/fail) at 5 cm within a predefined time threshold before and after exposure to each test condition. All tests revealed at most 1 read, write, or data integrity failure per test cycle in a sample size of 60. The results of the time-to-read tests for reading the tag ID alone and reading tag data met their respective acceptance thresholds. While some degradation of the RFID tag read/write performance did occur, normal exposure to centrifugation, blast freezing, and gamma irradiation in blood center operations is unlikely to have significant effect on the survivability of 13.56 MHz RFID tags on blood products. Subsequent in-field pilot testing on the processing of 12,000 blood donations at a major blood center showed no tag failures.