After a successful pilot last year at the Bon Secours Health System in Virginia, Burlington Medical Supplies began to embed RFID tags into every radiation apron it ships to hospitals. The manufacturer has shipped 40,000 RFID-enabled aprons since Q4.

Burlington Medical Supplies has tagged 40,000 of the radiation aprons it produces at the point of manufacturer.

Burlington approached ODIN RFID in 2011 about developing a solution that would automate the record-keeping process and manage inspection histories for assets like aprons that are required to be inspected each year. Proof of inspection is also required.

ODIN, which was acquired last month by Quake Global, developed a software program called EasyID, which it claims is the first asset inspection solution combining RFID-enabled iPads with a web-based platform for reporting and analytics.

EasyID is the only solution in the M2M healthcare market that identifies assets using RFID and enables the user to add and manage inspection histories for the asset. Data is stored securely on the iPad until a Wifi or 3G/LTE network is available, when the app syncs data with the EasyID web platform.

“ODIN has focused on smart devices over the past year,” says Ronan Wisdom, ODIN’s COO. “Tablets such as the iPad are enabling our customers to do things they could only dream of until very recently.

“We wanted to develop a truly native IOS app so customers could work with asset inspection data locally on the device for long periods of time without a network. Once synced, our EasyID cloud service provides a powerful platform for reporting and analytics. Compliance with healthcare audit and inspection mandates does not get easier than this.”

The pilot results from Bon Secours Health System showed that a process that typically required two to four weeks to conduct manually can be accomplished in as little as two days with the iPad Easy ID solution.

The EasyID system consists of an RFID reader (ODIN is using two reader manufacturers but Wisdom would not indentify them) that captures the unique ID number of a passive EPC Gen 2 tag embedded in the item.

After capturing the data, the iPad — which runs the EasyID software — stores the information and the details linked to that ID. Data is stored in a cloud-based server hosted by ODIN or on a local server. Wisdom says that ODIN will most likely release a version for Andriod by the end of 2013.

“This is eliminating all of the manual record keeping,” says Wisdom. “You eliminate the need to manually record the product serial number and describe the product. With just one click you’re in inspection mode. This also ensures accuracy and solves a regulatory headache.”

Wisdom says that ODIN is talking to manufacturers of other asset classes to gauge their interest. Fire extinguishers, for example, require safety audits similar to radiation vests. While there are products on the market for that, none of them are RFID based.

“Beyond the apron use case, we think the combination of a tablet and a lightweight pen reader can help you interact with a data center asset, a weapon, even a patient,” he says. “We see this as a real gateway to some interesting applications that we haven’t even been able to dream up yet.”

Annual Savings: $2M

The $1M-a-Day Challenge took a back seat yesterday so we could produce this week’s issue of RFID 24-7, but we’re back at it for Day 3. Today’s use case that saves $1 million or more comes from the Mayo Clinic, which is using RFID to manage tissue samples as they move from the operating room on to various testing sites.

Mayo has deployed the EasySpecimen RFID solution from ODIN across its 42 GI/Colorectal Endoscopy suites and Anatomic Pathology Laboratory on the Rochester, Minn. campus. The EasySpecimen  healthcare-specific RFID solution is designed to automate tracking and data entry in pathology labs, resulting in a significant reduction in specimen labeling errors, as well as benefit from resource and staffing savings.

In a typical lab that tests approximately 100,000 specimens per year, ODIN has realized cost savings of $1 million annually with respect to reducing paperwork, and more than $1 million in savings as a result of the reduction of mislabeled specimens.

ODIN anticipates seamless integration with most laboratory information systems (LIS ) and an expected return on investment of less than 12 months for a typical lab.

RFID can benefit a typical lab in four key areas, including 99.98 percent in specimen labeling accuracy; dramatic reduction in specimen source errors; increased lab productivity via paperless accessioning of specimens; and easier certification and audit capability.

ODIN’s RFID system has been proven to reduce error rates from industry averages of nearly 10 percent to under .002%.

Mayo Clinic has licensed the patent and know-how exclusively to ODIN for RFID-based specimen tracking. The solution uses ODIN’s patented RFID operating system software, off-the shelf passive RFID hardware and RFID tags. This offers medical centers an integrative, ubiquitous RFID tracking solution for pathology specimen management.

Mayo’s Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology has been working for four years developing an RFID system for specimen tracking within the GI/Colorectal Surgery Endoscopy Practice. In 2010, the Mayo team selected ODIN as its RFID software collaborator to replace and upgrade its legacy RFID system and commercialize the patented technology.

During the major Show & Party event, where winners are unveiled by jurors from some of the hottest agencies, attendees will be able to interact instantaneously via social media forums like Facebook and Twitter.

An RFID kiosk enabled social media experiences at a recent Mercedes event.

The ADVERTISING Club selected dwinQ, a spinoff of RFID service provider ODIN RFID, to provide the infrastructure for attendees to share the event in real time. The company’s automated photography systems use RFID as a single sign-on to social media outlets.

“This means attendees don’t have to think about connecting with their friends – it just happens,” says Patrick Sweeney, President & CEO of dwinQ.

Attendees receive an RFID VIP pass in their registration package and then log on to Facebook. Within 15 seconds they are registered and can use their VIP pass to upload pictures in real time, check-in to parts of the event, and Like things in real time. dwinQ also provides survey kiosks for additional online engagement and detailed back-end analytics.

The ANDY’s, famous for their stellar jury and international prominence, recognize creative excellence in advertising. Since the followers and participants are global, event management selected dwinQ to provide a real-time and seamless social media experience for attendees.

“We were looking for an ambient social media technology that could capture the moment,” says Gina Grillo, President & CEO of the ADVERTISING Club.

Sweeney’s new venture has already worked similar events for Mercedes-Benz, Toyota, Southwest Airlines and Vail Resorts. dwinQ has invested more than $35 million in its cloud-based software platform. A typical social media experience amplified by dwinQ will generate three to five times the attendance in created stories which usually result in high interactions per story on Facebook.

“It’s a great privilege to be chosen by The ADVERTISING Club to instantly share  the event and capture the many unique moments at the ANDY’s,” says Sweeney. “We’re excited to be helping people share their experience with their social graph in real time on Facebook.”

In today’s mobile world of smart phones and need-it-now access, RFID is quickly becoming known as a visibility tool of another sort – one that allows people to communicate instantaneously with each other, providing vacation updates from around the world, for example.

Those with hint of nostalgia might opt for writing a postcard that will arrive a week later, but those living in a highly connected mobile world are rapidly embracing the combination of RFID and Facebook to allow friends and family to view photos and news updates instantly.

Vail Resorts and Great Wolf Lodge are two entertainment venues that have deployed an RFID-based system to allow visitors to share information. Many more venues, from concerts to conventions, are planning similar deployments.

“The ability to create this virtual overlay on a physical event has great marketing value and provides a terrific engagement for guests,” says Patrick Sweeney, founder and CEO of ODIN RFID, whose EasyConnect software powers Vail’s EpicMix system that was utilized by more than 100,000 skiers last winter.

EpicMix, which utilizes an RFID-enabled ski pass with readers placed throughout Vail’s five resorts, was offered to season pass and multi-day pass holders last winter, with an adoption rate of 15 percent. This coming ski season, the program will be offered to all skiers.

Last year’s top EpicMix skier logged 171 ski days and skied more than 7.2 million vertical feet, earning the top spot on the EpicMix leader board. Of the 100,000 users, 45 percent of EpicMix accounts are public, meaning that guests volunteer to share skiing statistics with friends and family on social media sites like Twitter and Facebook. According to its web site, EpicMix generated 275,000 social posts and over 35 million social impressions (based on Facebook’s estimate of 130 friends per user). Also, EpicMix drove 1.7 million web and mobile visits last ski season.

“The big number for us is 35 million positive social media impressions,” says Robert Urwiler, chief information officer for Vail Resorts. “That’s a big deal to us because it increases the resort’s visibility in the social media space. This is a way for not just the resort to talk about itself but for guests to brag about their experience. We’ve created 100,000 brand advocates bragging about the experience they had at one of the Vail resorts. That’s pretty powerful.”

EpicMix leverages RFID installed at each of the company’s 89 lifts across its five mountain resorts and RF chips embedded in lift tickets. Urwiler says that 170 readers and 1,300 antennas comprise the current system. The resort has issued hundreds of thousands of RFID tags for the program, a number that will only grow as the recently acquired Northstar ski area is brought online and as more skiers sign on with EpicMix.

The system allows guests to track vertical feet skied and days on the mountain, and lets skiers share their experiences with family and friends on Facebook and Twitter. The free EpicMix mobile app alerts skiers when their Facebook friends are on the mountain, and can be used to send private messages, eliminating the always frustrating task of locating skiing partners on the hill.

Guest location services was also the primary objective of the initial RFID deployment at Great Wolf Resorts, which also uses the technology embedded on visitor wristbands as guest room keys and in-house charge accounts.

After check-in, guests at Great Wolf can register their wristband at the Great Wolf Connect kiosks and link it directly to their Facebook account. Then, at five Paw Posts located throughout the resort, guests can scan their wristband and smile for the digital camera at each spot. That photo – or a general photo of each attraction – and a caption are then automatically posted on their Facebook wall.

“Guests have been asking us for photo sharing functionality for quite some time. Great Wolf Connect allows us to expand our technology infrastructure in a way that enhances their stay,” says Great Wolf chief information officer Rajiv Castellino. “In Grand Mound, we’ve already seen our guests embrace this new experience. And as guests see others capturing memories at the Paw Posts, they’re trying it out for themselves, too.”

The solution is ideal for Great Wolf, which operates indoor water parks that can be difficult for guests to capture vacation moments due to the possibility of damaging camera and video equipment from water exposure.

The Paw Post locations include the most popular photo opportunities throughout the resort, including the resort’s signature Tipping Bucket as well as a full view of the of the waterpark from an elevated balcony inside the waterpark, and the Great Clock Tower in the lobby.

The Walt Disney company is also investigating RFID for a variety of use cases. According to the Epcot Explorer’s Encyclopedia, a web site that provides updates on everything Disney related, Disney sent out surveys to its park guests in June to gauge their reaction to RFID. The site says that Disney is considering RFID for everything from wristband admittance to pre-registration of guest information assigned to the wristband that would allow the theme parks to custom tailor a guest’s visit, such as character interactions and ride options.

Urwiler thinks we’re just seeing the tip of the iceberg when it comes to RFID and social media.

“This all surfaced pretty quickly and I think there is another wave coming with these NFC-enabled mobile devices,” says Urwiler. “Think about the implications of mobile phone manufacturers building readers and tags into every device, and then the innovative app developers who will inevitably develop tools to interact with social media in ways we have not even seen yet. So the proliferation of tags and readers to the general consumer versus back office uses like supply chain will produce a wave of innovation that is pretty exciting.”