Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd. has developed LXTBKZMCMG-010, a small RFID IC tag for surgical instruments that can be used even on metal surfaces, and began mass production in August 2019.
In recent years, there has been active advancement, mainly outside Japan, in assigning serial numbers to medical equipment due to tightening UDI regulations. Especially with the management of surgical instruments, there is a risk of preparing the incorrect surgical instruments, depending on a worker’s degree of proficiency, since they must select the needed instruments from among hundreds of differing kinds. The management of number of uses and history of use within hospitals has become an important issue in the medical community.
In response to this issue, Murata Manufacturing developed and began mass production of LXTBKZMCMG-010, an IC tag for surgical instruments, making use of a feature of UHF band RFID that allows multiple tags to be read all together from a distance. Since the tags are small and can be attached to metal surfaces, they could also be used for other applications besides surgical instruments.
This product will be exhibited at the 21st Auto-ID & Communication Expo to be held at Tokyo Bigsight from September 11 to 13, 2019.
【Supplementary Information】
Since surgical instruments are used after repeated cleaning and sterilization, attached IC tags must be durable and measures must be taken to prevent them from falling off. Murata and a partner company that provides services to medical institutions jointly assess quality points such as the attachment of tags to surgical instruments and the effect that has on the RFID signal.
UDI (Unique Device Identification) regulations
Laws and ordinances that require medical equipment to have individual identifiers (e.g., bar codes), for the safe usage and storage of medical equipment.
Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd. is a worldwide leader in the design, manufacture and sale of ceramic-based passive electronic components & solutions, communication modules and power supply modules. Murata is committed to the development of advanced electronic materials and leading edge, multi-functional, high-density modules. The company has employees and manufacturing facilities throughout the world. For more information, visit Murata's website at www.murata.com