System and method for tracking medical items and identifying item characteristics

A medical article tracking system for reading a data carrier that is attached to a medical article, the data carrier being responsive to electromagnetic energy (EM) of a frequency f1 in response to which the data carrier provides identification data, the system comprising:

• a non-transitory memory with a data base that associates the identification data of a data carrier with data about the medical article to which the data carrier is attached;
• a communication unit configured to transmit data;
• a metallic enclosure having an internal storage area, the metallic enclosure further having electrically conductive walls that completely surround the internal storage area and any medical article with associated data carrier placed therein, the enclosure having a natural frequency of resonance f2 which is different from f1 and to which a data carrier that is responsive to frequency f1 is not responsive;
• a probe disposed at a metallic wall of the metallic enclosure within the metallic enclosure, the probe configured to inject electromagnetic energy of a frequency f1 into the metallic enclosure, wherein the position of the probe in relation to the metallic walls of the metallic enclosure is selected so that reflected EM of frequency f1 within the metallic enclosure is in phase at the probe position to thereby optimize power transfer at frequency f1 into the enclosure;
• an active impedance matching circuit coupled to the probe and configured to actively more closely match impedance of the probe to impedance of the metallic enclosure at frequency f1;
• a storage device located within the internal storage area of the metallic enclosure configured to receive a medical article with an associated data carrier that is responsive to EM at frequency f1;
• a receiving antenna disposed within the metallic enclosure and configured to receive the identification data provided by the data carrier;
• and
• a processor connected to the memory, the communication unit, and the receiving antenna, the processor being programmed to receive the identification data of the data carrier from the receiving antenna, access the memory and compare the received identification data to the data base to locate therein associated data about the medical article to which the data carrier is attached, the processor being further programmed to control the communication unit to transmit the medical article data.