Canadian company Guard RFID Solutions has been granted a patent for a new method of determining and preventing RFID tag tampering for use in hospitals. Children staying overnight in a hospital pediatric ward are typically provided with an RFID tag that automatically triggers alarms and engages door locks, preventing the child from being forcefully removed from the area.
While earlier tampering detection methods relied on sensing changes in electrical currents and could be easily fooled, the new wristband tracking tag includes a visible light sensor as well as an infrared sensor that detects significant changes in infrared radiation. When the tag is placed around the wrist, the high temperature of the human body causes it to radiate large amounts of energy in the infrared spectrum that is picked up by the infrared sensor of the RFID tag. Any detection of infrared radiation changes will signify removal of the tag from the human body and trigger the appropriate alarms.
