Luke Peverelli | Glenn de Jonge | Jeroen Douw | Thomas Vrakking
Automated RFID Re-Stickering System Set to Transform Medical Inventory Management
Using cobots to help medical personal.
The SMR team of The Hague University of Applied Sciences RFIDeas is proud to announce a new automation process that simplifies the re-stickering of medical supply boxes using RFID technology. This solution is aimed at hospitals and medical facilities that currently struggle with time-consuming, manual inventory processes. With the prototype expected at the end of June 2025, this project is poised to enhance efficiency, reduce human error, and streamline medical inventory management.
Problem
Hospitals and healthcare providers currently rely on manual barcode scanning to keep track of inventory. This process is not only time-consuming but also highly prone to human error. Medical personnel must individually scan each product, which takes up valuable time and increases the risk of inaccuracies. Additionally, the lack of RFID technology in current workflows limits the ability to automate inventory checks and streamline operations.
Solution
The SMR team of The Hague University of Applied Sciences RFIDeas announces a new automation process to enable an easier and more reliable method for re-stickering any type of medical box with RFID tags. These RFIDs will be programmed using a zebra label printer. The information used in this label’s is acquired with the use of a daheng camera, which scans the existing barcodes and copies critical information directly to an RFID sticker. The system then picks up a sticker from the RFID sticker printer and applies it automatically. This significantly reduces human effort and error in inventory management and speeds up stocktaking in hospitals.
To use the system the user has to put the different boxes in the input area with the barcode facing down. Also, the customer has to make sure the different system parts are powered correctly and connected to a computer which runs the code. If wanted the customer could make their own designated output to pre-sort to different hospital departments.
Customer Quote:
“We believe this prototype represents the future of automated receiving department procedures. Traditional methods are time-consuming and inefficient. The prototype enables easier tracking of all products for better inventory management. Incoming goods are instantly registered, marking the next step in automating the goods receipt process in hospitals.”
-Chris Oude Luttikhuis
FAQs
Who is your customer?
Our customer is Chris Oude Luttikhuis from Medscan.
How will this make your customer’s life significantly better? Solve their pain point?
The solution the students presented will allow too automatically apply RFID tags to the different products and process all the products into the system automaticly.
Why is this a problem that needs to be solved right now?
The RFID tags on the products are needed because the time it currently takes to check inventory is too much.
What is the biggest risk in the project?
The biggest risk in this project is the size of some of the products, some products are too big to fit through the system furthermore not all products have a scannable barcode.
How will you measure success?
Succes will be measured in amount of correctly placed RFID tags on the products.
How does this integrate with existing product features?
Everything currently happens by hand meaning the system designed by the students is easy to integrate because there is now system to replace.
What is your rollout plan beyond the home market?
By showing the time which can be saved by the system designed by the students. Other hospitals would want to intergrade a system when they see how much time can be saved.
What is the most contentious aspect of your product? (What sparks the most intense debate?)
The system isn’t 100% futureproof. When companies see how they can help hospitals by using RFID tags the whole system might become redundant.
What are the key milestones in your roadmap:
Some key milestones in our roadmap were: the compact and professional system design, the use of the depth camera to detect which packages need to be picked up, the use of a camera to detect and read barcodes and the use of the zebra printer to make labels with correct barcodes and information which belong to the scanned product.