USING RADIOFREQUENCY IDENTIFICATION RFID CHIP IN SCINTILLATOR MANUFACTURING PROCESS
Publication Date: 2015-Oct-19
The IP.com Prior Art Database
A technique for tagging a scintillator batch wafer and packs is disclosed herein The technique involves use of miniature radiofrequency identification RFID electronics to tag the scintillator batch wafer and packs Using the RFID chip in the scintillator manufacturing process enables tracking and trending of batch wafer and pack performance Each RFID chip is activated by an RF scanner that sends an interrogation signal and each RFID chip responds with a unique 128bit ID stored in the chip The non volatile memory or ROM makes the RFID chip immune to alterations Also the RFID chip does not require batteries or power supplies to operate The 128 bit ID number is used to reference a database to trace a part tagged with the RFID chip through the manufacturing process and perform trending analysis
The present disclosure relates generally to scintillator manufacturing process and more particularly to tagging a scintillator batch, wafers and packs with a radiofrequency identification (RFID) chip.
Scintillators are used in various medical diagnostics such as in computed tomography (CT) imaging and owing to the criticality of application of the scintillators, scintillator manufacturing process is generally closely monitored. Conventional tracing techniques in scintillator manufacturing process rely on a printed bar code and human readable serial number on the side of each of the packs.
The bar code is available to a user via electronic query from a detector or test bench setup. Once parts of a batch are in a detector, IDs of the parts are only available through manufacturing records. The IDs of the parts are not available for query without a system or other bench setup and also requires opening up a sealed finished unit which is not desirable. In various detectors, a chiclet is the building block of the detector module and the parts are butted together in for example, 2x2 or 1x8 configuration. Such arrangement prevents full visual identification of the packs even if the part ID is printed on all four sides of the chiclet. In such cases, the chiclet pack needs to be removed from the detector. Therefore, tracking of a batch to pack build remains a challenge in scintillator manufacturing processes.
It would be desirable to have an effective technique for tracking the scintillator manufacturing process.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
Figure 1 depicts a scintillator pack with an RFID chip, according to an embodiment of the technique described herein.
A technique for tagging a scintillator batch, wafer and packs is disclosed herein. The technique involves use of miniature wireless radiofrequency identification (RFID) electronics to tag the scintillator batch, wafer and packs. The miniature RFID electronics comprises a fully passive RFID chip that is for example, about 50x50x5 microns in size. Using the RFID chip in the scintillator manufacturing process enables tracking and trending of batch, wafer and pack performance.
Each RFID chip is activated by an RF scanner that sends an interrogation signal and each RFID chip responds with a unique 128bit ID stored in the chip. The non-volatile memory or ROM makes the RFID chip immune to alterations. Also, the RFID chip is wireless and does not require batteries or power supplies to operate. The 128 bit ID number is used to reference a database to trace a part tagged with the RFID chip through the manufacturing process and perform trending analysis.
The wireless RFID chip is added to the scintillator chemical mixture of the batch, wafer and pack to trace the parts and trend performance data from initial process chemistry through full pack build and beyond. The RFID chip consists of a po...