MSC DISSERTATION
MSC DISSERTATION
MSC DISSERTATION
By
MOHAMMED MUSHAHID
Submitted to the Faculty of the
University of Reading
In partial fulfilment of the requirements for
The Degree of
MASTER OF SCIENCE
In CYBERNETICS
September, 2008
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
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ABSTRACT
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. INTRODUCTION
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My project is mainly focussing on one major sector which is the healthcare
industry. How this technology can be helpful and can save peoples lives can
be witnessed in many hospitals and centres. The media have reported many
cases of inaccuracy and sheer negligence by the hospitals caused by human
errors. These included false patient identification and performing surgery on
wrong patients, wrong blood being used in transfusions and administering of
wrong medicines. All these can be reduced, if not completely stopped, by
using the radio frequency technology for identification and verification
procedures.
My project involves the implementation of RFID module in Emergency
transport vehicles like ambulances, rescue helicopters, rescue ships and
boats. If we think about one of the main things to be considered in cases of
emergencies and accidents, it is the time. Time is of prime essence when
ever any rescue operation is carried out. Few seconds delay might mean a
matter of life and death. So, I have developed this model of the RFID
module which is a simple cost effective model and is very efficient. It
basically involves the use of the reader, transponder and the antennae. The
reader is a device which basically is the functioning unit, and provides the
power to the transponder in this application.
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mainly targeted for larger scale of disasters and accidents, when the injured
toll reaches a larger number. The concept is different as the tags have to be
written at the site of the accident. And then this information is sent to the
hospitals. The procedure is followed in steps, when at the site of the accident
or disaster, the mass of injured people are immediately identified into four
bands of deceased, Immediate, minor and delayed. This is the first triage.
Then they are taken to the first aid area which is the second triage and here
the information of the people is collected as much as possible. Then the
injured people are decided upon which hospital to be taken and the
information is written into the tags. In the ambulances also the information
is being collected and written onto the tags.
There are A & E personnel at the hospital awaiting the injured people
carrying transport vehicle and they take the data from the readers memory
and the emergency transport vehicle repeats the procedure after going back
to the site.
6
4
Another implementation of the RFID technology in a similar triage system
is tested by the Seattle Fire department .This system uses wireless method
for mass casualty incidents and states that the triage time takes less than 10
seconds. The use of manual writing of data and recording people’s
information using writing boards took 30 seconds per patient and the triage
system was slowed down. This new RFID technology was much faster and
saved time which is very crucial in these situations.
1.2. Criterion
There are some major criterions which I have considered and are as follows:
1. Every individual will have an ID card very much like NI cards and
credit cards, which will hold the individuals health information and
vital details.
2. There will be a global database which will store all the people’s vital
medical information and can be accessed by the Healthcare command
centres.
3. The emergency transport vehicle from any hospital or Emergency
centre can take the patient on board and transfer the patients ID to the
command centre and the centre can access the patient’s information.
4. The codes for each memory page which is used for user data storage
are to be followed by the emergency rescue personnel.
4
http://epsfiles.intermec.com/eps_files/eps_cs/SeattleFireDept_cs_web.pdf
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2. RADIO FREQUENCY IDENTIFICATION: EXPLAINED
Many of us have heard about RFID and have seen it but a few of us know
about the technology itself. It is a very exciting and simple data logging
technology. The concept of RFID is similar to other technologies which
automatically identify and record the data. 5The most common AIDC
(automatic identification and data capture) technology we have all come
across is the bar code technology. We have seen the cashiers scan the items
at supermarkets and the bar code is read using the light .This is reliable and
less expensive than the non automated techniques. But the RFID technology
has its own advantages over bar code technology. RFID uses radio frequency
for information exchange unlike light for AIDC technologies. The issue of
line of sight does not affect RFID, as the radio waves can penetrate many
objects. Speed is enhanced when using RFID for reading data. Antennae can
be designed for reading over greater distances.
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application being used. 6It comprises of the receiver and transmitter module,
a control unit and the interface for serial communication (RS 232, RS 485).
The transponder is the tag which has memory, microcontroller and control
unit along with the antenna circuit. The antenna frequencies of both the
reader and the transponder should be same when used in an application. The
antenna can be designed based on the distance and the recommended
standards. The reader also called the interrogator can be a Read device or
can perform both Read/Write operations. The transponder holds the
information to be read.
ANTENNA
CIRCUIT CONTROL MEM
AN UNIT ORY
CONTROL UNIT RF T UNIT
MODULE
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RFID HANDBOOK; Klaus Finkenzeller
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3. RADIO FREQUENCY: CLASSIFICATION
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Radio frequency is the frequency within the range of 3Hz-300 GHz. Radio
Frequency usually refers to the oscillations in the electrical circuits or
electromagnetic radiation. The table below shows the different frequency
categories and the wavelengths associated. The Applications are also
highlighted. The Red marked frequency category is the frequency category
which I have used in my project. I have used the Low frequency range of
125 KHz.
Table 1: Frequency classification
Extremely
10,000 km to directly audible when converted to sound,
low ELF 3 to 30 Hz
100,000 km communication with submarines
frequency
Ultra low 300 to 3000 100 km to 1,000 directly audible when converted to sound,
ULF
frequency Hz km communication with mines
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Radio Frequency: Wikipedia
10
Low 30 to 300 international broadcasting, navigational
LF 1 km to 10 km
frequency kHz beacons, lowFER
High
HF 3 to 30 MHz 10 m to 100 m shortwave, citizens' band radio
frequency
8
http://rfid-handbook.com
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technique
< 135 KHz Low frequency, 72 dBµA/m max
Inductive coupling
3.155- 27.283 MHz Medium frequency, 42 dBµA/m
Inductive coupling
For this range, usually the power transfer is done using the Antenna of the
reader which activates the passive transponder by means of mutual
inductance between the two circuits. This transfer of energy through mutual
inductance is called inductive coupling.
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Inductive coupling is a technique used to supply power to the transponders
which are passive. They use the power from the radiated field of the reader.
The reader’s antenna must provide the necessary electromagnetic field
which must be strong enough to activate the transponder circuit. The
electromagnetic field between the reader and the transponder antennae may
be considered as a magnetic alternating field, since the distance between
the reader and the transponder is far lower than the wavelength of the
frequency used i.e. for 125Khz: 2400m. When the magnetic field from the
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RFID HANDBOOK: Klaus Finkenzeller
12
reader antenna enters the transponder antenna coil, a voltage is generated in
the transponder antenna’s coil by 10inductance. This generated voltage has to
be rectified to provide a DC source required to power all the functions on the
chip and if necessary clamped to avoid dangerous and high voltage .The
antenna at the reader is connected to the capacitor in parallel, the capacitance
value is selected such that it works with the inductance of the coil to form a
parallel resonant circuit with a resonant frequency that corresponds with the
transmission frequency of the reader. At the transponder also, the capacitor
at the transponder also forms a resonant circuit with its antenna and is tuned
to the transmission frequency of the reader. The two coils can be
interpreted as transformer coupling with the reader coil being the primary
and the transponder coil being the secondary.
10
Electric current flowing through a circuit gives rice to magnetic field which produces magnetic flux. The
ratio of magnetic flux to the current is called inductance.
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modulation schemes are: 11ASK, FSK and PSK. In digital modulation, the
analog signal is modulated by the digital bit stream.
This is a brief explanation of the techniques which are used for data transfer
in the project. In ASK, the amplitude of the analog carrier signal varies with
the digital signal which are the bit stream (modulating signal), the level of
amplitude is used for representing binary 1 or binary 0. If the bit is high then
data transmitted is 1 and if it is low then it is 0. This can be called as an
ON/OFF switch. The modulated signal will have logic 0 when the carrier is
off and logic1 when the carrier is on.
In FSK, the frequency of the carrier wave is used for data transmission. The
frequency can be high for transmitting 1 and low when transmitting 0.
IN PSK, the change in phase of the carrier wave could be used to transmit
data.
11
ASK: Amplitude shift keying; FSK: Frequency Shift Keying; PSK; Phase Shift Keying
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4. PROJECT HARDWARE DESCRIPTION
The main components and modules used in the project are:
a. MicroRWD 125 KHz Quad Tag module
b. Hitag 2 Transponder
c. Antenna 125 KHz
d. MAX 232 CPE
e. Power supply
f. Connectors ( Serial communication )
g. Cables(Serial communication)
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ib technology datasheets
http://www.ibtechnology.co.uk
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input and output pins for reading switch inputs, driving indicator LED’s and
other output devices such as relays etc. The MicroRWD has two modes of
operation: The Standalone mode and the remote mode are as described
below. The module in the standalone mode has some built in serial numbers
which identify the transponder when it is brought near the field and shows
green light. This gives the module the ability to act as a mini access control
system without the need of any other external circuitry.
Fig: Standalone mode
RS 232
MICRO
RWD
Serial
ANTENN CHIP Comms
A
HOST SYSTEM
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4.1.1. MicroRWD block diagram and description
The MicroRWD is essentially a proximity system and a Read/Write range of
up to 20 cm can be achieved with the same level of reliable communication
and EMC resilience. The unique AST (Adaptive Sampling Technique)
feature allows the RWD to continually adjust and retune the sampling to
allow for inductive changes in the RF field, an essential feature for real-
world reliability and robust operation. The communication protocol with the
tags can achieve 4k bits/second of data transfer and the total time to read a
32 bit page takes less than 50ms.
13
The MicroRWD module is made up of an RF ASIC (Application specific
integrated circuits) IC (modulator /demodulator), a microcontroller IC and a
number of resistive and capacitive passive elements, all of which are
powered from an external 5-volt DC supply. A single 4 MHz crystal provides
the oscillator-clocking signal for both ICs. The RF ASIC internally divides
this to produce the 125 kHz carrier frequency, which under control of the
microcontroller is turned ON and OFF according to polling duty cycle.
(Default setting- 100 ms OFF/10ms ON with no tag in field and 100ms
OFF/50ms ON reading a tag in field). Because the RF field is normally
turned off and is effectively only on for short periods of transponder
communication, the average power consumption of the MicroRWD is very
low compared to other modules.
The 125 kHz carrier frequency drives a pair of FET transistors, which are
connected, to an antenna coil of 700 µH inductance (7-10 cm diameter
wound coil) with a 2 nF capacitor in series. Under optimum conditions this
forms a resonant circuit at the 125 kHz fundamental frequency and 100v
peak-to-peak and 200ma peak currents are created in the coil. This radiated
13
www.ibtechnology.co.uk: Data sheets
17
carrier field has sufficient strength to power passive transponders in close
proximity (10-15cm range)
ANTENNA
700 µ H DRIVERS MODULATOR
OSCILLATOR
ANTENN
A CONTROL
UNIT
5v DC
Supply
4 MHz
Crystal
Microcontroller IC
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Four output TTL level RS232 LED
Signals interface output signals
4.2. Transponder
The transponder is also called the tag and mainly comprises of the memory
unit, control unit and the antenna circuit. The memory unit stores the data
and this data is to be sent to the reader using the antenna. So the data is
modulated and sent to the coil which transmits the data and the reader
detects the incoming data and demodulates it. This is the basic and simple
operation principle. Now for my project I have used the Hitag2 transponders
(Hitag 2 is a trademark of Philips Semiconductors) which are basically the
transponders in which the information is protected against interrogation and
copying using the password exchange system. The transponder derives its
power from and communicates using the Reader antenna 125 kHz RF field
.They can use various communication schemes as I have described earlier.
Also the tags have different memory options as it depends on the
application. Some of the transponders also use encryption and password
authentication techniques to provide communication and data security.
Modulation Encoding
Fig: Transponder circuit: general
C
Rectification
EEPROM
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ANTENN
A
Power Control
control Logic
The tags used in the earlier times were READ ONLY and the ID was fixed
by the manufacturer. Then came the tags which could be used many times, in
the sense EEPROM was being used. This 14EEPROM lets us write into the
tag many number of times.
The transponder circuit above is just a basic idea of the main components
and processes involved. The antenna is connected to the capacitor C in a
parallel arrangement which forms the 15parallel resonant circuit.
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LC circuit is also called the resonant circuit or tuned circuit consisting of
an Inductor (L) and the capacitor(C). When they are connected together, an
electrical current can alternate between them at the circuits’ resonant
frequency which is 125 kHz.
Why are LC circuits used?
LC circuits are used for either generating signals at a particular frequency, or
picking a signal at a particular frequency from a complex signal. Thus we
know now why the parallel resonant circuit arrangement is done in RFID.
This arrangement generates the necessary power required to power up the
internal circuit. This project uses Hitag 2 transponders which have 256 bits
(32 bytes) of read/write EEPROM memory arranged as 8 partitioned 32 bit
pages. An area of 128 bits (16 bytes) is open for general user data. The Hitag
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EEPROM: Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory: Uses UV light to burn into the
memory.
15
Resonant circuit is also called LC circuit.
16
LC circuit : Wikipedia
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2 transponders are configurable for different modes of operation and the
MicroRWD H2 version supports the high security PASSWORD mode only.
This feature uses two password codes stored both in the H2 transponder and
the RWD that are mutually exchanged when a tag is brought into the RF
field; the tag is only unlocked for read/write operations if these codes
exactly agree. The diagram below explains the memory classification in the
transponder EEPROM.
Fig: Memory classification of Hitag 2 transponder.
RWD PASSWORD
RESERVED
AGE/GENDER/NAT/BLOOD GROUP
PERSON ID
16 bytes =4 pages
EMERGENCY CONTACT Of 32 bits each.
(USER DATA)
NUMBER
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4.3. Antenna Specification (125 kHz)
The antenna for this project is made of 67 turns of copper wire for the
antenna size of 7 cm internal diameter as shown in figure below.
Fig: Antenna
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The problems faced with the tuning of the antenna have been taken care of
by using capacitors of 47 Pico farads at pins 9 and 12 of the RWD module.
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4.4. RS 232C: Serial communication
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RS- 232 stands for Recommended Standard number 232. Most of the
computers use the sub version of the RS232 version which is the male 9 pin
connector. The full RS 232 is a 25 pin “D” connector of which 22 are used.
The figure below shows the 9 pin D connector and its pins:
9
1
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Pin 4: DTR (Data Terminal Ready)
Pin 5: Signal Ground Common reference point
Pin 6: Data Set Ready (DSR)
Pin 7: Request to Send (RTS)
Pin 8: Clear to Send (CTS)
Pin 9: Ring Indicator (RI); Incoming signal from the modem
For this project I have shorted pins 1, 4 and 6. Pin 2 is transmission pin and
Pin 3 is receiving pin. Pin 5 is ground and Pin 8 is clear to send signal which
is high.
The MicroRWD Quad Tag module when connected to the PC using the RS
232, its software is obtained from the company developed files. The RWD
Quad tag supports 4 types of transponders which are: Hitag 1/s, Hitag2,
H400x/4102 mode and MCRF 200/123 mode. The transponders used in this
project are Hitag 2 mode transponders. When these transponders are
brought near the antenna field, the Green LED glows indicating the tag
being accepted and identified. This signal is transmitted to the PC when the
READ TAG button is pressed on the software screen. The Read Tag
activates the reading of the card. 18The automatic identification of the tag is
not possible in the RWD QT module as it is supporting 4 different
transponder types and this application could make it complicated. However,
the MicroRWD MF (Mifare) LP (Low Power) module can be used in the
auto identification mode. I have used the TI (Texas Instruments) module for
the data transmission using the putty serial communication display screen on
18
Information from ib technology technical department: Mr. Ian Evans: 08707775964
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the PC as the module MicroRWD QT does not support the auto
identification of the transponder.
5. PROJECT APPLICATION
The project details mentioned till now have covered the basics of RFID
including hardware and design aspects. The project has its application in the
area of data identification and transmission to the destination. This project is
focussed towards identifying the individual’s ID and sending this ID to the
hospital. As mentioned in my 19criterion list, everyone will carry their Health
ID cards with them which will have the individual’s number. This Number
can be looked on the Global database of people and their health information
and conditions can be processed for the doctor’s use. Only the Doctors and
surgeons can access these details in emergency cases only.
The process of card reading and writing into the transponder (ID card) is a
simple procedure. The cards used in this project are Hitag 2 transponders as
described earlier. These cards have four pages of memory space for user
data, each page having 4 bytes.
The display of Hitag 2 software on the PC screen will show the data
contained in the last four pages as described below:
Page 04 :
Page 04 is the first page of the memory reserved for user data. This page will
contain the basic information in each of its byte. The first byte will contain
the information about the age of the individual. The second byte will
indicate the gender. The third byte will be the nationality and the last byte
will indicate the Blood group of the individual.
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1.2 .Criterion
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Let us consider for example any individual, for instance my ID card is read,
it will display my information in page 04 as:
Where:
24: Indicates the age
01: Indicates the gender which is 01 –for male and 02 – for female and 03 –
for other
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91: Indicates the nationality which is based according to the table of
nations.
A1: Indicates the blood group which is A1 for A + and A0 for A-
Similarly for other blood groups, the notations used are:-
B1 for B+
B0 for B –
A2 for AB +
A3 for AB –
01 for 0 +
02 for 0 –
This data can be useful for the personnel in the emergency transport vehicles
who are carrying out the emergency rescue operation at the site.
Page 05:
Page 05 is the second data page reserved for the user to program. This
memory page of 4 bytes is used for storing the individual health ID of
people. This ID has to be sent to the A & E command centre for recognition
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Country codes according to the International phone codes. Ex: UK- 0044, INDIA-0091 etc
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and identification of the person being brought in the emergency transport
vehicle. This ID will be looked up in the global database and the person’s
health conditions and other vital information can be accessed and reviewed
by the doctors and health personnel.
The page 05 will be seen on the screen as:
This ID is sent to the A & E command centre which receives it and retrieves
the person’s information from the global database.
For example:
ID 00 00 01 07
Name: Mushahid Mohammed
Address: 78 A Christchurch Road, Reading, UK, RG2 7AZ
D.O.B: 12-03-1984
Emergency contact no: 00447877665433
Medical Condition: Healthy
Allergies: Penicillin
Minor Surgeries: Nil
Major Surgeries: Nil
Diabetes: NO
Asthama: NO
Other conditions:
Under any current medication: NO
Last medical checkup: 18 April 2007
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This above detailed information will be in the global database which will be
accessible to the health personnel in cases of emergency situations. All the
major pieces of information are immediately known to the doctors attending
the injured people.
Page 06 and 07: (8 bytes)
The page 06 and 07 will together make use of the 8 bytes which will be 16
bits to hold the persons kith and kin contact number.
It will show the screen as:
Page 0:
Page 1:
Page 2:
Page 3:
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6. CONCLUSION
This project is a basic project which reads the data when it is prompted by
the user. The MIFARE model of QT model has the auto read option which
reads the data from the transponder as soon as it is brought under the
magnetic field influence. Further improvements and developments could
mean designing transponders which can hold the entire patients history
rather than storing just the ID. This would mean that the hassle of
maintaining the database and retrieving procedures could be eliminated. The
memory used in this project is only 256 bytes; this could be increased in
future to hold more information.
The major difficulties faced in developing this project were synchronising
the transponder to the Reader, and Transmitting data through HyperTerminal
or putty terminal.
The main advantages of this project can be realised to their full scale if this
is implemented and piloted. The project can help save peoples lives and can
be a major future medical breakthrough. This project can be a global success
iff all the countries participate and every individual globally cooperates. One
simple implementation area for this project could be tourism, as it can be
very useful for tourists who visit different places and if they come across any
situation involving accident or such cases, then their medical information
can be gathered immediately without any hassle and their families can be
informed and updated. As technology keeps on developing at a rapid rate, it
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will be no wonder to see this global database thing to be a reality and we can
consider the whole world as a single community.
Bibliography
1. Finkenzeller, Klaus ,RFID Handbook, John Wiley and Sons,2003
1985.
6. Banks, Hanny, Pachano and Thompson, RFID APPLIED-Everything
Websites
1. www.A1-RFID.com
2. www.rfidjournal.com
3. www.zebra.com
4. www.technovelgy.com
5. www.industrial-embedded.com
6. www.nhs.com
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7. www.automation.siemens.com/rfid/en/competence-in-rfid.html
8. www.wipro.com/retail/coe/rfid.htm
9. www.infosys.com/RFID
10. http://hardware.silicon.com/storage
11. http://www.dits-uk.com/news.htm
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