News and Media: Media Coverage

IDTechEx staged its annual conference on Active RFID and Real Time Locating Systems RTLS in Dallas USA 5-6 December. Delegates at over 240 and exhibitors at 20 were again sharply up, reflecting this prosperous and innovative industry. Here we look at aspects relevant to printed electronics. Passive RFID is most amenable to being totally printed because, in most cases, the logic consists of just a memory chip. However, although printing the microprocessors commonly used in active RFID is probably ten years off, the opportunity to print the antennas, sensors, interconnects and batteries is much closer. The primary motivation is to make these devices thinner, flexible and lower in cost.

The pharma industry sees great opportunities in using Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology during clinical trials, a new survey has revealed.

Using a wallet-style blister package can be a costly undertaking. In most cases, wallets are pretty complex in terms of design and materials, and assembly involves either a lot of labor or a lot of machinery. For these reasons, drug companies may shy away from the wallet.

Mark Andy, partners demonstrate in-line solutions for inlay, strap RFID-label constructions.

World's First on-Press RFID Transponder Labels Manufactured. XINK Flexographic inks enable revolutionary RFID transponder labelmaking.

At live demonstrations by printing-equipment maker Mark Andy, a narrow-web press produced RFID labels at a rate of 100 to 200 feet per minute.

An Overview of Class 3 Sensors.

Intelligent & Active Packaging Technology from Information Mediary Corporation

New InstaCure formulations allow printing of RFID antennas and complex electronic circuitry, including flexible paper sensors (package security), sensor grids (pharmaceutical packaging monitors), keypads (disposable electronic paper diaries) and backplane components (flexible displays).

First and foremost, compliance packaging is all about the patient. With regimens broken down into individual doses, compliance packaging is designed to make drug therapy easy to follow. The idea is that if patients better understand and follow their regimens, therapy is more likely to work.