Tridentify real time blood bank monitoring system

Tridentify develops location- and condition‑sensing medical device technologies for the health care industry. Their QTA Tracer System® is a patented solution that decreases blood waste plus increases blood availability, traceability and quality. The system is a key solution for blood monitoring systems.

“We chose connectBlue (now u‑blox) as we needed a robust Bluetooth low energy product for high‑volume medical device solutions,” says Christian Strandberg, CEO of Tridentify. “Six blood banks use the system distributed by Abbott Scandinavia. They expect to see improvements such as quality, traceability and accessibility of blood products at all times. Presently the system is available in the European market.”

Tracing and Analyzing the Blood History

Blood components must be stored at 2‑6°C, at 20‑22°C or in a frozen state. Deviation from those requirements will result in reduced shelf life or even discarding of the specific blood unit. With the new concept, one uses a “tracer”; the tracer is a tag‑like module delivered by Tridentify and contains a customized version of the Bluetooth low energy platform module OLP425. The PC includes a Bluetooth low energy gateway and collects the data wirelessly from the tracer.

Then the gateway uploads the data for further analysis. “Once a blood bag is set in motion – either by being taken out of the blood bank or by tapping the blood bag – the Bluetooth connection is activated and the tracer can be connected to the gateway for information upload or read‑out,” explains Strandberg. “Smartphones and other platforms are quickly adopting Bluetooth low energy technology, so additional devices can provide a rich set of connection possibilities.”

Bluetooth Low Energy Technology – the Best Fit

The QTA Tracer System is designed to assure the quality and shelf life of blood products. It tracks information on blood quality, changes over time, and changes in location. The Bluetooth low energy module includes the temperature sensor and an accelerometer used for activating the data transmission. The Tridentify application specific software in the module handles temperature logging, calculations and information. Thereby, the actual expiry date is provided.

“Since Bluetooth low energy technology features very efficient discovery and connection set‑up as well as low power consumption for small devices requiring long battery life, it is particularly suited for applications like the blood storage scenario,” concludes Strandberg.

Key Benefits

• Fast time‑to‑market
• The latest Bluetooth Specification: Bluetooth v4.0
• Good support and expert advice available at all times