3 DIBBIOPACK Open Event (RFID oxygen sensor) FEU · PDF file• Passive tags are energised via the incoming Radio Frequency (RF) signal from the reader, which generates ... RFID Tag

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FP7 DIBBIOPACK – Contract Nº 280676 / Confidential - Not Free for External Use

SMART OXYGEN SENSOR RFID

Prof. Gearóid Ó LaighinSchool of Engineering & Informatics

NUI Galway

DIBBIOPACK Project Conference

Zaragoza

24th of February 2016

Galway and the Medical Technology Sector

• Eight of the world's 10 largest medical device companies are located in Galway and employing 8,000 people in a city with a population of 75,600 people!

• Galway is one of the leading Med Tech clusters in Europe and globally

• Growing Med Tech startup sector

Pied de page Pied de page ‹#›


Galway

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Galway



• The colours of the ISC oxygen indicator (a) after UV activation, and (b) after reaction with oxygen

Optical Sensor – Basic Concept

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• ISC indicator works on the principle of a colour change from colourless to blue when the level of oxygen exceeds 2%

• Optical Sensor used to detect this colour change

• By shining a bright light towards the ISC indicator when O₂levels are below 2% - the indicator sufficiently transparent to allow light to be reflected back - indicating the absence of unwanted concentrations of oxygen.

• If O₂ levels are above 2% ISC indicator changes to a blue colour - the light will be absorbed (not reflected) indicating the presence of undesirable levels of O₂.

Optical Sensor - Basic Concept

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Optical Sensor – Basic Concept

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System Architecture

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• LED was selected as the light source

• Solid-state device which emits light when a suitable positive voltage is applied to the anode lead with respect to the cathode lead

• LEDs are cheap, extremely efficient and can operate on voltages lower than 4V.

• The LED enclosure is transparent epoxy resin - allows maximum light output - serves as a light lens and protects the LED chip from damage.

Optical Sensor - Light Source - LED

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LED Light Source

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λ= 630nm



LED 5MM, Super Bright RED

Luminous Intensity: 12cd

Viewing Angle: 15°

Forward Current (IF): 20mA Forward Voltage (VF): 2.1V

Wavelength: 630nm

Red LED is driven by Pulse Width Modulated (PWM) pulses generated by a Texas Instruments MSP430 processor - designed for ultra-low power applications.

LED Specifications

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LED Driver & Photo-detector Counter

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• Photo-detector consists of a red filter, a photodiode and associated electronic circuitry, which produces a current in response to reflected red light shining on the photodiode.

• The pulses outputted by the photodiode are fed to a counter on the MSP processor, which counts the number of pulses up to a pre-set number

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• A corner cube retro-reflector is used to reflect the RED back in cases where it is not absorbed.

• With a corner cube retro-reflector you get the highest signal return -typically 2000 to 3000 times the reflectivity of white paper

• This approach overcome directionality problems of LED and photodiode

• Retro-reflector incorporated into RFID tag

Corner Code Retro-reflector

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• Product identification tag would incorporate the ISC indicator to perform the task of detecting the levels of O2 in the tagged product.

• Product identification tag would need to be small enough to fit on a flexible substrate and robust enough to withstand handling during the entire product lifecycle.

• Product identification tag would allow for the wireless communication of the status of the packaged product data to a reader device.

• Solution: RFID

Tag Requirements

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• Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is an auto-identification technology using radio waves to identify unique items.

• RFID technology used for communication of the status of the packaged product data with the platform for two reasons:

• Firstly RFID sensors do not require any local power source or battery.

• Secondly, the availability of global standards for RFID technologies enables interoperability and facilitates globalisation.

Tag Design

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• RFID systems are made up of two major components: RFID tags and RFID readers.

• RFID tag or transponder contains microchip attached to an antenna – the microchip capable storing encoded information such as a unique identification number which can be retrieved when tag activated by a suitable RFID reader.

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)

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• Passive RFID tags have no internal power or they do not use it to transmit the signal to the reader.

• Passive tags are energised via the incoming Radio Frequency (RF) signal from the reader, which generates a small current in the antenna.

• Antenna current activates microchip on tag - effectively waking it up and enabling the RFID tag to send out a response to the reader.

• The aerial or antenna of a passive tag is designed to both pick up and transmit an RF signal.

Passive RFID

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• Passive tags do not generally have an internal source of power - they are cheaper than active tags.

• Passive tags are typically smaller.

• As DIBBIOPACK tag needed to be incorporated into a small label which can be integrated into packaging -passive tags.

Passive Tags

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MicrochipAntenna

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HF versus UHF RFID

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• UHF systems offer faster read rates and longer read ranges compared to HF systems.

• Well-known drawback of 13.56MHz technology is its limited range (less than 1m maximum), and relatively slow reading speed compared to UHF technology.

• Fact the antenna for HF systems is constructed in a coil format, means that much smaller sizes of tags are possible compared to UHF.

• Importantly HF frequency provides resistance to common sources of interference found in commercial and industrial environments - considerable problem for UHF systems in recent years.

HF versus UHF RFID

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• As antenna for HF systems constructed in a coil format -smaller sizes of tags are possible for HF versus UHF.

• NFC (HF) RFID tag with circular (coiled) antenna design on white PET carrier substrate material, whi ch has the centre material die-cut and removed.

• NFC component can implement ISO15693, ISO14443A or ISO14443B NFC RFID protocol.

• ISC oxygen indicator of 15-20mm diameter centred on the NFC antenna.

• A small, circular area of retro-reflective tape positioned directly behind the ISC indicator layer 15mm-20mm diameter

RFID Tag Design Specifications

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RFID Tag with Retroreflector layer

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RFID Tag before (L) and after (R) exposure to Oxygen



• Considerations for choice of RFID tag reader platform selected were size, cost and ability to support the features required.

• The Texas instruments TRF7970AEVM NFC RFID module, which includes an TI MSP processor, a HF reader and a TTL/USB adapter chip provided an excellent platform for the development of the Tag Reader.

• Availability of firmware for this module facilitated the development of software for demonstration on a PC desktop.

Tag Reader

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• TRF7970A EVM works with required ISO standards

• Features MSP430F2370 Ultra-Low power microcontroller for custom firmware development as well as communication with the Host Software Graphical User Interface (GUI) via a USB connection.

• Replaced USB with a Bluetooth module in the final design to allow wireless communication with Smartphone as a data display and data gateway device.

Tag Reader Design

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• TI EZ430-RF256X Bluetooth module was chosen - this particular module, uses a MSP430 processor also.

• TI EZ430-RF256X is a software evaluation module and therefore is fully supported in terms of technical assistance and data, while also being relatively inexpensive to purchase.

Bluetooth Module

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Handheld Unit Architecture

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Bluetooth Enabled Handheld Unit: RFID Reader + Optical Sensor



Reader Implementation

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• Starts by turning on the optical probe LED at low power to allow the user to direct the modules probe light on top of the ISC indicator area.

• HF RFID reader will then read the package tag ID and any other relevant information stored on the RFID tag

• If tag ID is valid - optical probe light is turned on to full power to probe the ISC oxygen indicator’s status

• Optical probe turned back down to low power again in order to save battery lifetime.

Handheld Unit Firmware

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Start

Declarations &

Initializations

Turn off

Pulsating

optical LED

Check Status

Sleep/Low Power or Reset?

Stop

Yes

Read / Write HF RFID Tag

No

Has the Tag a valid ID?

No

Turn on Optical LED full Power

Yes

Take 25 Oxygen

Measurements

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• Based on the measured status of the ISC indicator unit handheld unit reports the result to Smartphone via the Bluetooth where the data are stored in the database.

• An audible alarm is provided using a built-in buzzer which provides a short audio alert when the level of oxygen in the food package is above the 2% concentration limit

• Oxygen status including time, date and package location will be programmed back on to the package RFID tag by the RFID reader.

• Process is repeated until the module is either turned off or reset.

Handheld Unit Firmware

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Is there Oxygen?

Turn off

Pulsating

optical LED

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Yes No

Turn On 1 Pulse

Buzzer

Turn On 6

Pulses Buzzer

Turn On 1

Green LED

indicator Pulses

Turn On 6 Red

LED indicator

Pulses

W rite Oxygen Status,

including t ime, date

and location to RFID

Tag

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Report

Oxygen in

Package

Store Data in Data Base

Report No

Oxygen in

Package



• Smartphone Application software used to upload data from the handheld reader into a database hosted on a remote server.

• Developed as Android App capable of receiving, displaying and storing data from tags scanned by the Handheld Unit.

• Stores data with the time and date a particular tag was scanned (Time & Date Stamp), the RFID tag’s unique identification number (Tag UID) and the O2 status of the package under test (whether package PASSED, FAILED or needs to be Re-Scanned).

• Database implemented using Parse.com

Application Software

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• Application automatically opens on “Test” tab but reader not paired to phone at this stage.

• To start pairing process, click the “Start” button - this will call up a second command box prompting the user to “Select a device to Connect” - choose the option for Dibbiopack.

Setting up the App



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• Application will then attempt to connect to the phone.

• If Pairing process successful, user will see message “Connected to Reader” in top

right-hand of window.

Setting up the App



• If oxygen levels of item under test is below 2% product deemed to be satisfactory and PASS result displayed

• If levels of oxygen are above 2% concentration, product is considered to be unacceptable and FAIL result is displayed

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Reading Smart Labels



• Select “Query” tab

• Enter the UID of the particular tag, or product, which they wish to gather additional information about

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Querying the Database



• Click “Search” to receive all the information stored on the database in relation to the complete history of that particular product.

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• Dr. Sabine Amberg-Schwab Fraunhofer ISC

• Dr. Daniella Collin, Fraunhofer ISC

• Mr. Joe Dowling, GTI

• Mr. Kevin McGuinness, GTI & NUI Galway

• Mr. Omar Salman, GTI

• Dr. Leo Quinlan, NUI Galway

• Ms. Kerry Ward, NUI Galway

Acknowledgements

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Gracias

Go Raibh Míle Maith Agaibh

Thank You39

Documents

3 DIBBIOPACK Open Event (RFID oxygen sensor) FEU · PDF file• Passive tags are energised via the incoming Radio Frequency (RF) signal from the reader, which generates ... RFID Tag