Switched has a new home! Huffpost Tech.

Click here to visit the new home of Switched!

Hot on HuffPost Tech:

See More Stories
AOL Tech

Radio-Frequency ID Tags Interfering With Hospital Equipment

by Terrence O'Brien on June 26, 2008 at 04:02 PM

RFIDs Pose Risk for Hospital Patients
There is plenty of paranoia and weariness surrounding the potential for radio frequency identification tags (RFID) being used by shady governments and corporations to track your every move, or becoming yet another target for hackers with nefarious motives. But they have proven useful for tracking equipment, goods, and patients who may not be fully capable of caring for themselves.

Though this isn't the first instance of electronics getting in the way, a new study shows that RFID tags may in some cases interfere with life-sustaining medical equipment such as respirators and external pace makers. Of 123 tests performed on 41 different machines, 24 produced "significant" or "hazardous" incidents which varied from changing setting to completely halting a dialysis machine.

The danger of RFID tags in hospitals is likely to debated for a long time to come, just like cell phones. [Source: BBC]

Tags: health, hospital, interference, medicine, rfid

HuffPost AOL Social News Most Popular