End-to-end Medical Consumable Tracking for Optimized Use in Forward Operating Environments

We propose a novel hardware and software system to significantly improve the process of tracking medical consumable quality throughout the supply chain, and provide improved product quality and sustainment costs to the end health care provider, even in extremely chaotic battlefield environments. By including a low-cost wireless smart sensor with each lot of medical consumables (e.g. case, package, etc), as well as a strategically placed network of wireless receivers at key supply chain points (including point of use), a complete temperature history and shelf life calculation can be maintained for every product. The proposed system is built using our established technology platform in order to meet the most stringent DoD security requirements, yet is fully FDA 21CFR part 11 compliant in order to satisfy cGMP and other FDA requirements. "Cloud" connectivity and hosting can also be provided using our FedRAMP compliant services solution, providing the highest level of security for cloud-based capabilities. All monitored data is aggregated and presented to the health care provider with a simple interface dashboard, allowing them to quickly locate the optimal consumable item to use. This assistance will significantly reduce the risk of using out-of-date product, improve the proper rotation of stock, and provide additional productivity benefits for the health care provider by assisting in the location of product via assistance tools such as audible locating beacons from the smart sensors. It also simultaneously provides a useful interface for Navy acquisition personnel in order to fully understand the real-time inventory and shelf-life status of all consumables in their supply chain. In chaotic front-line environments, this information can be critical in ensuring adequate inventory is maintained at the point of use, as well as providing better feedback to identify portions of the supply chain which may be inadvertently reducing consumable viability.