Demonstration Paper: Wirelessly Sensing Medication Administration: Cyber-Physical Event Detection and Notification Utilizing Multi-Element Chipless RFID

Abstract: Medication administration is one pathway by which Adverse Drug Events (ADE) can occur. While Electronic Medical Administration Record (eMAR) systems help reduce the number of ADEs, current eMAR implementations suffer from workarounds that defeat safety and verification mechanisms meant to limit the number of potential ADEs that occur during medication administration. In this paper, we introduce Multi-Element ChipLess (MECL) RFID tags which enable real-time event notifications through event signatures. Event signatures correspond to the physical configuration of different RFID elements in a chipless RFID tag. Augmenting physical objects, such as a pill container, with MECL-RFID can allow caregivers to detect the moment a particular pill container is opened or closed. We present the fundamentals behind real-time event detection using MECL-RFID and propose a cyber-physical intervention system that can be used to reduce ADEs through realtime event monitoring and notifications sent to clinicians administering medication. We also present a prototype MECL-RFID to demonstrate potential future improvements to eMAR systems that minimize ADEs.