RFID Safety in Healthcare: From Newborn Protection to Staff Alarms
Contacts & Companies
Martin Hartwigsen
Business Development Manager
Profile
Format: Video on demand
Source: Think WIoT Livestream 2026 – No Theory: Real Wireless IoT Success Stories
Title: No Theory: Real Wireless IoT Success Stories - From Operational Challenge to Proven Deployment
Speaker: Martin Hartwigsen from deister electronic
Date: September 9, 2026
Language: English
RFID in healthcare can do far more than identify people or assets. When identification is combined with defined detection zones, access control and automated alarms, RFID becomes part of an active safety system.
In this presentation, Martin Hartwigsen, Business Development Manager at deister electronic, explains how the company’s amanTag Personal Protection System is used to protect newborns, patients, residents and staff in hospitals and care environments.
RFID Detection Zones for Real-Time Safety
At the core of the solution are RFID transponders worn by people or attached to assets and strategically installed locators that detect them when they enter defined areas. Hartwigsen presents the LCA 500 LT locator, which integrates the antenna and reader in a single housing and creates an adjustable detection field of up to five meters.
Transponders entering this field are activated and transmit their ID at 868 MHz. Multiple tags can be identified simultaneously, allowing the system to recognize not only individual persons but also situations involving several transponders in the same zone.
Different transponder designs support different applications. Alongside asset tags, deister electronic offers a dedicated baby and asset tag, wrist-worn tags, a configurable transponder and a version with an integrated alarm button.
Protecting Newborns and Maternity Wards
One application is the protection of newborns and maternity wards. RFID tags can be assigned to mothers and babies so that their identities and movements can be checked electronically.
Defined zones and doorways can be monitored, making it possible to detect unauthorized movements or trigger actions before a critical situation develops. The system therefore combines identification with location-aware safety processes rather than relying only on manual checks.
Preventing Wandering in Dementia Care
The same principle is used in elderly care and dementia care. Residents who are at risk of wandering can wear a transponder that is automatically detected when they approach protected exits or restricted areas.
Electronic doors can be integrated directly with the locator, enabling access decisions or alarms to be triggered automatically. Hartwigsen also demonstrates how movement direction can be determined using two locators, helping the system distinguish whether someone is entering or leaving an area while reducing unnecessary alarms.
RFID-Based Emergency Calls
RFID can also provide an active emergency-call function. A wearable tag with an integrated button allows residents or caregivers to trigger an alarm themselves.
The system can transmit the transponder ID together with the position of the detecting locator, helping staff identify where assistance is required. An Airlink Spot extends this concept with indoor communication over distances of up to approximately 25 meters and can connect status messages, electronic door locks and deister’s Commander software.
Protecting Staff in Hazardous Areas
For employees working in potentially dangerous environments, the same technology can function as a personal alarm system. Hartwigsen shows scenarios in which staff can trigger an emergency alert discreetly when confronted with aggression or other threats.
RFID detection can also be used to keep personnel away from hazardous or restricted zones, making the technology relevant not only for healthcare facilities but also for other safety-critical workplaces.
From Identification to Automated Protection
The presentation demonstrates a practical approach to RFID-based safety: instead of treating identification, localization, access control and alarms as separate systems, amanTag connects them within operational workflows.
The result is a configurable infrastructure that can react automatically when people enter critical areas, request assistance or require additional protection.
For questions about the applications shown in the video, system integration or deployment options, contact Martin Hartwigsen, Business Development Manager at deister electronic.
