Shape analysis in the design process of products with embedded microelectronics

Abstract

Surgical Instruments (SI) are a major asset anda significant share ofthe total capital spending of a hospital. It is therefore important to track the product inside the health provider's facilities. One ofthe technologies available to face this problem is RFID. ln order to tackle this issue, the first approach was to develop a polymeric add-on product that features an embedded RFID, and which could be coupled to the surgical instrument without the need to redesign it. Nevertheless, there are many challenges in incorporating an RFID tag in SI. Aside from usability issues, it is vital to ensure that the tag is placed in the sarne zone of the SI. For this purpose, shape analysis has been conducted with ali instruments of a SI generic set (25 SI) in order to find similarities and common geometries. ln this paper we describe those results and how they were employed to design a solution. The development product should allow for a fast and accurate count during surgical and sterilizing operations. This system can help to prevent severa! typical errors, such as miscounting, misplacement, and the accidental disposal ofSI.