GD Medical is a medical supply OEM for major US healthcare companies, including Johnson & Johnson, Medtronics, Medline. In early 2020, it selected Xerafy, the RFID specialist, to custom design and produce an innovative RFID label that can withstand repeated gamma-ray radiation cycles.
2020 started with a surge in demand for PPE in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic and the acute challenges of accelerated shipments to institutions. Full vertical integration from raw material to global distribution gives GD Medical maximum flexibility and control over cost, quality, and lead time, with distribution centres across the US for full geographic coverage.
Challenge
To ensure complete sterilisation for its PPE shipments and offer advanced tracking and authentication features GD Medical was specifically looking at how to ensure complete sterilisation for its PPE shipments and offer advanced tracking and authentication features, which would prove critical in fast-track distribution at point-of-care.
Gamma-ray radiations are routinely used to sterilise medical equipment and other essential healthcare products. But they adversely affect most electronic tracking devices currently available in the market.
Solution
GD Medical selected Xerafy to help design a custom RFID system that can withstand repeated gamma-ray radiation cycles. The tags would need to be available at scale, with only a few weeks for project turnaround.
Result
Xerafy put its engineering resources at GD Medical's disposition, while proximity to their gamma sterilisation facility in Nantong, China, allowed quick prototyping and testing.
The Xerafy Gamma label is available worldwide to manufacturers and label converters. Beyond PPE, a number of Xerafy partners are working on the deployment of upcoming Covid-19 vaccines and treatments.
Besides surviving repeated e-Beam and Gamma irradiation cycles, the off-metal global frequency RFID label comes in two sizes and is printable.
About Xerafy Gamma label
Gamma label is part of the Xerafy Metal skin series of FDA UDI-compliant RFID labels that support tracking and automation throughout medical supply chains. Xerafy has ten years of experience innovating in tracking for medical device manufacturers and healthcare institutions.
The company pioneered the concept of Smart Instruments, where surgical and medical devices are RFID-enabled by the institution or at point-of-manufacture to help drive patient safety and operational efficiency, in line with the FDA’s UDI Unique Device Identification (UDI) requirements.