RFID Medical Article Tracking System and Method

A method of supplying a medical storage container having a plurality of pockets by reading an identification device that is attached to the medical storage container and for reading identification devices attached to medical articles located in the medical storage container to manage the inventory of the medical storage container, each of the identification devices being responsive to electromagnetic (EM) energy in response to which the identification devices provide identification data, the medical storage container and medical articles being located within an internal storage area of an enclosure, the enclosure having electrically conductive walls that surround the internal storage area and a medical storage container holding medical articles with associated identification devices placed therein, the method comprising:

• positioning a medical storage container within the internal storage area of the enclosure, the storage container having an identification device identifying the storage container, the medical storage container containing medical articles, wherein each of the medical articles located therein having an associated identification device, the identification devices being responsive to electromagnetic (EM) energy to transmit identification data;
• injecting EM energy into the enclosure from a location within the enclosure;
• storing an electronic inventory list of the medical storage container on a non-volatile memory;
• and
• receiving the identification data of the medical storage container by a processor, locating the inventory list of the identified medical storage container in the non-volatile memory by the processor through the identification of the medical storage container, receiving identification data of the medical articles located in the medical storage container, locating the details of the medical articles in the identified medical storage container by the processor in the non-volatile memory through the identification data of the medical articles, comparing the details of the identified medical articles against the inventory list of the medical storage container in which the identified medical articles are located, and based on the step of comparing, determining any differences between the medical articles that are in the medical storage container the inventory list;
• and
• showing the layout of the pockets in the identified medical storage container and providing an indicator that shows in which pocket a particular medical article is placed.

A medical storage container supply system for reading an identification device that is attached to a medical storage container having a plurality of pockets and for reading identification devices attached to medical articles located in the medical storage container to manage the inventory of the storage container, each of the identification devices being responsive to electromagnetic (EM) energy to provide identification data, the system comprising:

• an enclosure having an internal storage area, the enclosure further having electrically conductive walls that surround the internal storage area and a storage container in which medical articles are located, and also having an opening through which a storage container located in the internal storage area can be replaced with a different storage container, each medical article having an associated identification device;
• a probe disposed within the enclosure, the probe configured to inject EM energy into the enclosure;
• a medical storage container having an identification device identifying the medical storage container, the storage container being located within the internal storage area of the enclosure and containing medical articles, each of which having an associated identification device identifying that medical article, the identification devices being responsive to EM energy to provide identification data;
• wherein the probe is further configured to receive identification data provided by identification devices of the medical storage container and the medical articles stored in the medical storage container when they are located in the enclosure;
• an inventory list having an inventory of medical articles to be located in the medical storage container;
• a non-volatile memory on which is stored the inventory list of the medical storage container;
• a display;
• and
• a processor programmed to receive the identification data provided by the identification device of the medical storage container, to access the non-volatile memory to locate the inventory list of the identified medical storage container, to receive identification data provided by the identification devices of the medical articles located in the storage container in the enclosure, and to compare the received identifications of medical articles to the inventory list of required medical articles for the medical storage container to determine from the comparison at least one of whether there are missing medical articles not in the medical storage container that are on the required inventory list, and whether there are extra medical articles in the medical storage container but not on the required inventory list;
• wherein the processor is further programmed to control the display to display the inventory list on the display with marks on the displayed inventory list indicating either what medical articles were found to be present in the medical storage container, or what medical articles were found to be missing in the medical storage container;
• wherein if the identification data of the medical storage container is not found in the database on the non-volatile memory, the processor is programmed to provide an alarm;
• and
• wherein the processor is further programmed to show the layout of the pockets in the identified medical storage container and to provide an indicator that shows in which pocket a particular medical article is placed.