RFID Inventory Control for Laboratory Specimen Management

Kindbody Leverages HF RFID for Embryo Management

Vios Fertility Institute, now Kindbody, a trusted fertility benefits provider, is leveraging a robotic solution with RFID technology to ensure automated and error-free specimen management. Manual processes traditionally used to track, monitor and store specimens for IVF procedures are prone to errors and risks, including minor accidents such as embryologists injuring themselves with liquid nitrogen and major catastrophes like misidentified embryos, tank explosions, or lost or destroyed specimens. Kindbody has deployed TMRW Life Sciences’ CryoRobot to gain a real-time view into each specimen’s identity and conditions as it is managed for patients. TMRW was created by embryologists to digitize the identification and tracking of specimens, providing traceability for frozen eggs and embryos of every patient.

How RFID Eliminate Errors in Laboratory Specimen Management

The laboratory specimen management solution, leverages 13.56 MHz HF RFID tags on TMRW Life Sciences’ cryo-beacons, as well as readers built into the CryoRobot,  to ensure that specimens are identified and linked to a unique patient, then are safely stored and accessed as needed, always at appropriate cryogenic temperatures. It provides remote monitoring in the form of the company’s Overwatch platform, which checks temperature levels and the unique ID number of every specimen on a regular basis.

With RFID tags on specimen containers and even instruments, laboratories can achieve unique identification for each specimen. Even under harsh conditions such as exposure to low temperatures, heat or chemicals, RFID ensures data remains accessible and accurate. Processes can be controlled via RFID-enabled work surfaces to ensure every step of sample analysis is followed in the correct sequence without omissions.

HID has developed a Sense Passive Tag Family consisting of battery-less temperature, moisture and fill level sensing labels and tags that can provide temperature information, volume measurement, and unique identification for each vial when the Sense Passive RFID tags are read by an RFID reader.  

Benefits of RFID in Laboratory Specimen Management

Adopting RFID technology offers laboratories multiple advantages. It avoids mix-ups through unique tagging, allowing every sample to be accurately tracked and handled. Automation reduces time spent on manual entries and mitigates errors, while process reliability guarantees compliance with prescribed steps, minimizing risks in sample handling. Enhanced safety is maintained as RFID ensures specimen integrity under varying conditions, from extreme cold to chemical exposure. 

RFID technology  revolutionizes specimen management by introducing automation and reliability into laboratory workflows:

• Error-Free Identification and Automation — RFID transponders on specimen containers, tubes, cartridges, trays, and slides prevent mix-ups, ensuring proper handling from collection to analysis, and enable automated data acquisition, even when optical labels fail
• Automation — RFID-equipped processes can record specimens at every step, enabling streamlined workflows and reducing manual documentation. Automating data acquisition, even when optical labels fail.
• Durability — RFID tags withstand extreme conditions, maintaining functionality in environments where traditional labels fail