Pharmceutical industry provider SYSTECH’s dabbling (or shall we say testing?) in RFID this month – specifically, it’s working with partners to evaluate various types of HF and UHF RFID technology.

The most recent RFID trials, part of an ongoing industry initiative called “On Track” developed by industry leaders like health info services provider McKesson, involve working with suppliers, customer partners, and technology vendors to determine how RFID technology will enhance the quality of product safety and item serialization across the supply chain.

Omron RFID today announced the availability of its new “Ninja” inlay.

The silent-but-fierce prop is ideally suited for item-level tagging applications.

The Ninja inlay, designed to fit under most labels found on pharmaceutical bottles, provides up to a four-foot communication range. This performance overcomes many of the issues encountered when using UHF item-level inlays for pharmaceutical applications. 

VeriChip Corporation announced today the first sale of a fully integrated, approximately $750,000 RFID system for infant protection, wander prevention, staff duress, and asset protection.

The Delray Beach, Fla.-based developer of security solutions will install the locating technologies at the Brampton Civic Hospital in Ontario, Canada, which is scheduled to open next fall.

VeriChip makes lots of news headlines for its FDA-approved human-implantable RFID microchip and an active RFID tag with skin-sensing capabilities. 

Semiconductor and RFID tech company Impinj today unveiled its new Gen 2 RFID chips – for those who want the kind of chips that can store detailed product information for specialized applications.

The new chips with enhanced functionality are the Monza/ID chips with secure, factory-programmed product identification numbers, as well as Monaco/64, the first in a line of chips with user-friendly memory.

The Monaco family of chips targets industries and applications with specific data-storage requirements such as the airline industry, pharmaceutical industry, and retail supply chain plants. 

Counterfeiters, run for cover:

IBM today unveiled a new RFID system for tracking and tracing of pharmaceuticals. The system makes it more difficult for counterfeit drugs to get to market, protecting consumers by helping ensure the drugs they receive match the prescription from their physician.

With RFID already getting kudos from the FDA, we bet this system will generate much interest among all supply chain parties. 

VeriChip is partnering with Horizon Blue Cross and Blue Shield of New Jersey on a 24-month clinical trail to prove its FDA-approved implantable VeriMed Patient Identification System saves lives.

The physician-insurance collaboration, taking place at Hackensack University Medical Center, pairs VeriChip’s RFID-infused microchips with chronically ill patients so that ER physicians can access those patients’ medical record electronically. The microchips provide immediate access to family contact information and information about the patients’ medical histories that could mean the difference between life and death in an emergency. 

It’s a teeny, tiny memory chip the size of a grain.

Called “Memory Spot,” Hewlett-Packard’s new wireless data chip, announced this week, can be attached to any object, making information more ubiquitous.

But it’s got big, big power. And it’s expected to rival RFID in various applications, such as hospital writstbands for patient identification.