Medication tracking system and method using hybrid isolated magnetic dipole probe

A tracking system for tracking medical articles stored in an interior volume of a container, the interior volume of the container having a size selected to receive a plurality of medical articles each of which has a wireless identification device associated therewith that has individual identification data, and each wireless identification device configured to respond with identification data upon receiving activation energy, the interior volume of the container having a resonant frequency that is different from a frequency of operation of the wireless identification device, the system comprising:

• electromagnetic (“EM”) shielding located about the interior volume of the container configured to shield the interior volume of the container from the passage of EM energy both into and out of the interior volume, whereby the interior volume is isolated to keep activating radio frequency (“RF”) energy within the container so that radio frequency identification (“RFID”) tags located outside the container are not activated and read;
• an EM energy conducting injection probe located within the EM shielding, the injection probe located and configured to inject activation RF energy into the interior volume having an energy pattern directed to fill the interior volume of the container with an EM field, wherein the injection probe comprises a main conductive element having capacitive coupling across at least one slot of the main conductive element thereby forming an isolated electric field that fills the interior volume of the container, and wherein the main conductive element is spaced apart from a ground plane by a selected distance thereby forming a robust magnetic field that is orthogonal to the electric field and that also fills the interior volume of the container;
• a parasitic element located at a selected position in relation to the main conductive element of the injection probe, the parasitic element being configured to control the energy pattern of the main conductive element in the interior volume of the container;
• a receiving antenna located within the EM shielding at a position to receive identification data response signals from activated wireless identification devices located within the interior volume, the receiving antenna providing the received identification data response signals;
• a signal source producing activation radio frequency (“RF”) energy having a frequency that is different from the resonant frequency of the interior volume of the container, and coupled to the injection probe;
• and
• a processor connected with the signal source, the processor being programmed to control the signal source to deliver the activation RF energy to the injection probe for injecting into the interior volume of the container to activate identification devices in the interior volume, the processor further being programmed to stop the signal source from delivering RF energy to the injection probe to allow the receiving antenna to receive identification signals from activated identification devices in the interior volume, and further being programmed to receive the identification data response signals from the receiving antenna.