Radio Frequency Identification of Katrina Hurricane Victims

RFID is a non-line-of-sight (capable of communicating remotely even when obscured) and contact-less (without direct contact between the transacting elements) automatic identification technology. The identification data is stored on chips that can be attached or embedded into products, animals or even humans. The tag can be active (with on-board power source) or passive (with no power source). An RFID chip consists of an integrated circuit of about 0.4x0.4mm, and an antenna. The ID or user data is written / retrieved to/from the tag by a reader using the energy generated by induction or radiation. The block diagram of an RFID system is illustrated in Figure 1. Several RFID technologies are currently available, with characteristics such as read-only, read/write, encryption, passive, active, semi-active, etc., and they are suitable for different applications. The inherent strength of RFID chips is that they can provide spatial and temporal context to the tagged subject in addition to a unique identity. This adds substantial value to the decision making for various applications, most prominent of which include tracking and tracing livestock and wildlife, hospital patients, inmates, pharmaceuticals and drugs, consignments in a supply chain, engineering parts in aerospace, hazardous material, and perishable food. Many new applications are also being explored, such as how to exploit the RFID potential for tracking locations of indoor users for personalized, contextual information delivery and sharing, as well as numerous healthcare tasks: pharmaceutical anti-counterfeiting and authenticity testing, accountability and reliability in clinical trials, medical device, and asset and patient tracking. Pilot studies in US and Europe have shown that RFID reduced medical procedural errors, improved location and availability of medical equipment, care delivery to invalids, and provided better management of wounded US soldiers in the Iraq war theatre. Last but not least, recent disaster aftermath has shown that RFID technology can be useful to improve record acquisition and tracking