THIS RESEARCH PROJECT IS INTENDED TO DEVELOP A TECHNOLOGICAL SOLUTION TO THE PROBLEM OF MANAGING THE LOCATION OF INVENTORY IN AN OFFICE, HOSPITAL OR RESEARCH ENVIRONMENT.

THIS RESEARCH PROJECT IS INTENDED TO DEVELOP A TECHNOLOGICAL SOLUTION TO THE PROBLEM OF MANAGING THE LOCATION OF INVENTORY IN AN OFFICE, HOSPITAL OR RESEARCH ENVIRONMENT. THE LONG TERM OBJECTIVE IS TO DEVELOP AND COMMERCIALIZE A COMPUTERIZED SYSTEM WHICH CAN AUTOMATICALLY LOCATE INDIVIDUAL ITEMS OF INVENTORY IN A BUILDING. LOCATING AN OBJECT IS DONE BY ATTACHING TO IT A SPECIAL, DIGITALLY ENCODED ELECTRONIC LABEL. A COMPUTER CONNECTED TO AN ELECTRONIC INTERROGATOR COMMUNICATES WITH THE LABELED ITEMS AND IDENTIFIES THEIR LOCATION. THE ECONOMIC FEASIBILITY OF THIS SYSTEM IS BASED ON THE AVAILABILITY OF LOW COST COMPUTER EQUIPMENT AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF A PASSIVE (BATTERY-LESS), LOW COST, CMOS CHIP FOR THE LABELS. PHASE I WILL INVOLVE THE PROTOTYPE DEVELOPMENT, AND EXPERIMENTATION OF THE CRITICAL ELEMENTS OF THIS TECHNOLOGY, NAMELY, THE CHIP, THE INTERROGATOR AND THE WIRELESS COMMUNICATION BETWEEN THEM. IN PHASE II, THE ENTIRE SYSTEM WILL BE DEVELOPED INCLUDING THE INTERROGATOR-TO-COMPUTER INTERFACE AND THE COMPUTER SOFTWARE. THE HEALTH RELATED APPLICATIONS INCLUDE MAINTENANCE OF MISPLACED PATIENT-CARE DOCUMENTS. FUTURE APPLICATIONS OF THIS TECHNOLOGY CAN INCLUDE DRUG INVENTORY CONTROL, LABORATORY SPECIMEN IDENTIFICATION, AND ENTRANCE/EXIT CONTROL FOR AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL.