FREEDOM INDEPENDENCE

May 1, 2002 12:00 PM

At first glance, the imposing brick structure atop a hill on Dorchester Avenue south of Boston appears to be a grand old mansion — perhaps one that has been converted into the stereotypical psychiatric hospital. When talking with residents at The Boston Home, that assumption proves erroneous.

In fact, the minds of the residents here are as quick and articulate as any — they just happen to be contained in bodies (averaging only 54 years of age) that are afflicted with multiple sclerosis and other serious neurological diseases.

The 84 residents of The Boston Home have little or no control over their limbs and muscular systems — their central nervous systems have been ravaged by MS or by neurological disorders such as Lou Gehrig's Disease. As a result, the level of assistance technologies The Boston Home uses is truly impressive — from motorized wheelchairs controlled by sip-and-puff devices, to headrests sensitive to minor head movements, to voice-activated computer software programs and environmental controls.

In addition to providing for the long-term health care of its residents, one of the missions of The Boston Home is to encourage residents to remain functionally independent and maintain control over their environments. To accomplish the task, officials at The Boston Home turned to RFID technology as an adaptive technology, helping to achieve independence of movement and functionality, as well as enhancing patients' quality of life.

ESTABLISHING A NEED

After doing various access control and security jobs for The Boston Home over the years, Craig Halloran and Glenn Smith of systems integrator Security Design Inc., Ashland, Mass., were aware of the facility's need for a revolutionary way to tag wheelchairs. The Boston Home needed RFID tags installed that could be read from a greater distance than normally associated with proximity readers. In addition, residents needed the RFID tags to be able to trigger a relay at the access panel to call elevators and operate door-opening devices.

The goal was to alleviate residents' dependence on the staff every time they wanted to take the elevator or to enter and exit the facility. Although the technology to lessen these problems existed in the form of active RFID, the readers were very large and obtrusive, the tags were active (containing batteries) and therefore subject to battery failure. Furthermore, the costs involved were prohibitive.

At the same time, technicians at Applied Wireless Identifications Group Inc. (AWID) — a Monsey, N.Y.-based RFID component and sub-system supplier — were looking for beta test sites for the company's LR-911 long-range RFID reader. The LR-911 is a battery-free RFID system capable of reading passive tags from a distance of 9 to 11 feet. The Boston Home was perfect for beta site testing because of the obvious need, and the Security Design staff's eagerness to pioneer a solution. Most importantly, the management of The Boston Home was receptive (and indeed proactive) to any technology that would enhance the quality of life of its residents.

“Using technology is a creative way to improve the quality of life for our residents,” says Marva Serotkin, chief executive officer at The Boston Home.

The AWID LR-911 solution seemed ideal. Company engineers contained the reader in a small housing (8×10 inches). They could mount a tag on a wheelchair and accomplish 9 to 11 feet of read range. The LR-911 can interface with any industry-standard access control panel, and it operates within a frequency range that does not interfere with existing medical equipment. Additionally, the suppliers made the technology affordable for the not-for-profit institution.

Initial testing of the LR-911 reader and the Prox-Linc MT tag at the front entrance to The Boston Home exceeded expectations, achieving even more than the 11-foot maximum read range specification. The product — originally designed for access control, automated vehicle identification and asset monitoring — can obviously make a positive impact on the quality of life of the residents.

The beta test parameters stipulated that Security Design would install three LR-911 high frequency readers in the elevator lobbies used most commonly by the residents. Don Fredette, adaptive equipment technician at The Boston Home, would mount the MT tags on the wheelchairs of 12 of the most actively mobile residents.

When the MT tag on the wheelchair entered the RF field from the LR-911 reader, its encoded number is transmitted to the access control panel, which, in turn, activates the elevator controls via a form C relay. The elevator then arrives at the floor where the patient is waiting and proceeds to the remaining two floors, allowing the resident to exit as desired.

“There were many times when I endured sitting in front of the elevator, waiting for someone to come along and push the call button for me,” says Mike Caristinos, a Boston Home resident. “It was not unusual for me to maneuver my chair into the elevator, only to have the doors close on me. And there I sat until someone called the elevator from another floor. That has never happened since [the LR-911] was installed.”

Without exception, residents of the facility were enthusiastic in welcoming the elevator system.

“This reader system is like a gift from above. It has saved me from wasting a lot of my time waiting for, and stranded on, those darn elevators,” says Don Dalpe, a former engineer for Raytheon.

The word used most by the residents and the staff at the facility when discussing the LR-911 system is “independence.”

“MS is a disease that strikes most commonly in middle age. Our residents had full lives, careers and aspirations when they were robbed of their physical abilities by this neurological disorder,” says Bob Barry, director of plant operations at The Boston Home. “Anything that we can do to return even a small amount of independence to them is significant.”

Says resident Lillian Carr: “This system is the biggest boost to my independence ever. It has alleviated a lot of frustration for me.”

In addition to regaining some amount of independence, Serotkin explained that having the system in place greatly increases the activity levels of the residents, which has therapeutic value.

The staff now saves time by not having to push the elevator call buttons and wait for the elevator with the resident. “Those 2 or 3 minutes per occurrence really add up when you have 84 residents,” Serotkin says. “The system has really eliminated some huge barriers for them.”

Future expansion of the system is planned, and an upcoming construction project will expand the LR-911 system to the building's exterior doors.

FUNDING CONSIDERATIONS

Even a facility that focuses on enhancing residents' quality of life must endure regulatory hurdles. That consideration highlighted another advantage of using RFID as an adaptive technology — there is no physical change to the facility, and therefore no need for permits or regulatory approvals before implementing the technology.

“Adaptive technologies like this system provide us with the tools to give our residents a dignified way to enhance their quality of life,” says Don Fredette, a staff member at the facility. “That makes my job more satisfying.”

AWID'S QUALITY OF LIFE INITIATIVE

AWID Inc.'s Quality of Life Initiative centers around two realizations:

• RFID products can not only enhance the security of, but more importantly the quality of life for, many people who do not enjoy the freedom of movement and mobility that many of us take for granted.

• Facilities that provide long-term care and rehabilitation services for these people are usually not-for-profit institutions that are hard-pressed to afford the technology that can enhance the quality of life for their residents/patients.

Therefore, any non-profit organization that engages in long-term residential health care, and/or rehabilitation services, and that can use AWID's RFID products to enhance the quality of life for its patients/residents, may apply for acceptance into the program.

Once approved, AWID will make RFID products available — in conjunction with a qualified systems integrator — at reduced pricing.

FOR THE RECORD

ABOUT THE COMPANIES

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