TWI840156B - Wireless identification of acupuncture needle structure - Google Patents

Abstract

A wireless identification acupuncture needle structure is provided, wherein the antenna of the electronic tag is isolated from the acupuncture needle by a gap through the isolation thickness of the expanded diameter insulating sleeve, and the expanded diameter insulating sleeve surface allows the antenna on the substrate sheet to be fully unfolded, so that the loop formed by the perforated slot of the antenna can resonate with the electromagnetic wave signal reflected from the acupuncture needle, so that the activated reader or point receiving reader can stably read the ID identification code of the wireless radio frequency identification chip against metal interference, thereby obtaining the effect of long-distance reading and identification of the identity of the acupuncture needle.

Description

Wireless identification of acupuncture needle structure

The present invention relates to a wireless identification acupuncture needle structure that is resistant to metal interference and has long-distance reading and identification performance.

Today's medical institutions are constantly working to improve medical quality to avoid medical errors; but unfortunately, medical errors are still inevitable. Therefore, the issue of patient safety has always been one of the most important topics for the World Health Organization (WHO) and European, American and Japanese countries, and is also an important issue for health care service systems in countries around the world.

Acupuncture treatment covers a wide range. According to the first edition of the World Health Acupuncture Special Issue published by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1980, there are 43 diseases that are proposed and recommended to be treated with acupuncture worldwide. In November 1996, the World Health Organization (WHO) Milan Conference in Italy approved 64 acupuncture indications, including digestive system diseases, endocrine metabolic diseases, gynecological diseases, neuropsychiatric diseases, motor system diseases, etc.

Acupuncture is a method of inserting needles into the subcutaneous tissue or muscles at specific locations on the human body surface to treat various diseases or relieve pain. Whether it is acupuncture treatment or acupuncture pain relief, the needles must be used to directly contact the internal tissues of the human body, so the hygiene and safety of the needles themselves are very important. If the needles used to treat diseases are not hygienic enough and are infected with unnecessary pathogens, secondary injuries will be caused. In order to avoid the reuse of disposable needles, the management of needle recycling and waste inventory is very important. RFID wireless radio frequency identification technology is used for needle identification, which should bring safety and efficiency to the above work, especially identification/tracking of needles before and after use. Hospitals can ensure the implementation and thorough execution of recycling and inventory work, avoid the risk of hospital infection, or avoid medical accidents where needles remain in the human body.

Conventional disposable acupuncture needles are usually made of stainless steel, and the needle body is extremely thin. Even at the needle handle, most of the diameters are only about 1.2 mm, making it difficult to use RFID tags on the needles. In particular, if multiple needles are to be identified over a long distance at the same time (to increase needle identification efficiency), the shape or space of the needles will be limited. It will be difficult to build an ultra-high frequency radio frequency antenna and the antenna electromagnetic wave signal transmission and reception is easily interfered by metal. It is even more difficult to use ultra-high frequency wireless radio frequency identification chip (UHF RFID) technology to achieve the above requirements.

The main purpose of the present invention is to provide a wireless identification acupuncture needle structure, wherein the front end of the needle body of an acupuncture needle has a needle tip, and the rear end has a needle handle, and a wireless identifier is installed on the needle handle, and the wireless identifier includes:

An expanded diameter insulating sleeve, the center of the tube body of which has a set of holes relative to the outer diameter of the needle handle, the isolation thickness is defined between the set of holes and the tube surface of the tube body, and the tube body is placed on the needle handle through the set of holes;

An electronic tag is composed of a substrate sheet, an antenna and a radio frequency identification chip (RFID IC); the substrate sheet is a flexible insulating film sheet having an outer film surface and an inner film surface, and the inner film surface is backed by adhesive, and the substrate sheet is rolled and pasted on the tube surface of the expanded diameter insulating sleeve; the antenna is a metal film antenna made on the outer film surface of the substrate sheet, having a hole groove, and a slit-shaped gap is provided on one side of the hole groove, so that the antenna forms two poles of a loop on both sides of the slit-shaped gap, and the two sides of the slit-shaped gap serve as pads; the wireless radio frequency identification chip is arranged on the pad of the antenna and electrically connected to the two poles of the antenna loop;

When the acupuncture needle containing the wireless identifier is taken out from the storage place, the identification is read by the activation reader to start the control. Furthermore, after the acupuncture needle is used, it is collected to the waste place and the identification is confirmed by the reader. In the overall inventory and control process, the wireless identifier on the acupuncture needle is separated from the acupuncture needle by the isolation thickness of the expanded insulating sleeve, and the expansion The surface of the expanded insulating sleeve allows the antenna on the substrate sheet to be fully unfolded, so that the loop formed by the perforated slot of the antenna can be used to resonate with the electromagnetic wave signal reflected from the acupuncture needle, so that the activated reader or point receiving reader can stably read the ID identification code of the wireless radio frequency identification chip against metal interference, and obtain the effect of long-distance reading and identification of the acupuncture needle identity.

The second purpose of the present invention is to provide a wireless identification acupuncture needle structure, wherein the expanded diameter insulating sleeve is a tube body formed of a soft rubber material, and the sleeve hole has an expanded hole compression elasticity, so that the tube sleeve body can be tightly sleeved on the needle handle and fixed.

Another purpose of the present invention is to provide a wireless identification acupuncture needle structure, wherein the substrate sheet is a metal foil soft board, and the antenna is directly manufactured by etching the metal foil surface; so that the antenna manufactured on the substrate sheet can be easily processed by an electronic circuit soft board.

Another purpose of the present invention is to provide a wireless identification acupuncture needle structure, wherein the isolation thickness of the tube body of the expanded diameter insulating sleeve is at least 0.4 mm, so that the antenna can be made using a commonly used electronic circuit soft board as the substrate sheet, and the antenna and the acupuncture needle can have a sufficient distance to prevent interference.

Another purpose of the present invention is to provide a wireless identification acupuncture needle structure, wherein the antenna is made on the outer surface of the film of the substrate sheet, and an insulating protective film is attached above the outer surface of the film to cover the antenna and the wireless radio frequency identification chip, so that the antenna and the wireless radio frequency identification chip can be isolated and protected from the outside world.

Another purpose of the present invention is to provide a wireless identification acupuncture needle structure, wherein the electronic tag is adhered to the tube surface of the expanded diameter insulating sleeve by the adhesive backing of the inner surface of the film of the rolled substrate sheet, and a shrink sleeve that completely seals the electronic tag is placed on the rolled outer surface of the electronic tag; so that the antenna and the wireless radio frequency identification chip can be isolated and protected from the outside world, and the installation fixity of the wireless identifier on the needle handle is increased.

10: Acupuncture needles

11: Needle body

12: Needle tip

13: Needle handle

20: Wireless Identifier

30: Expanded diameter insulating sleeve

31: Bobbin body

310: barrel surface

32: Hole

T: Isolation thickness

40: Electronic label

41: substrate sheet

410: Outer surface of film

411: Inner surface of film

42: Antenna

420: hole slot

421: Slit-shaped gap

422: Solder pad

43: Wireless RF identification chip

44: Insulation protection film

50:Contraction sleeve

Figure 1 is a three-dimensional diagram of the structure of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a three-dimensional diagram of the structural assembly of the present invention

Figure 3 is a three-dimensional diagram of the structure of the electronic tag of the present invention.

Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view of the structure of the present invention

Figure 5 is a three-dimensional diagram of the structure of another embodiment of the electronic tag of the present invention.

Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view of the structure of another embodiment of the present invention

Figure 7 is a three-dimensional diagram of the structure decomposition of another embodiment of the present invention

Figure 8 is a three-dimensional diagram of the structural combination of another embodiment of the present invention

Figure 9 is a cross-sectional view of the structure of another embodiment of the present invention

Figure 10 is a reading distance test curve of the wireless identifier of the present invention mounted on an acupuncture needle.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the present invention specifically provides a preferred embodiment and is described in detail with reference to the attached drawings as follows:

A wireless identification acupuncture needle structure, as shown in Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4, is an acupuncture needle 10 having a needle tip 12 at the front end of the needle body 11 and a needle handle 13 at the rear end. A wireless identifier 20 is installed on the needle handle 13. The wireless identifier 20 includes:

An expanded diameter insulating sleeve 30, the center of the barrel body 31 of which has a set hole 32 relative to the outer diameter of the needle handle 13, the separation thickness T is defined between the set hole 32 and the barrel surface 310 of the barrel body 31, and the barrel body 31 is sleeved on the needle handle 13 through the set hole 32;

An electronic tag 40 is composed of a substrate sheet 41, an antenna 42 and a wireless radio frequency identification chip 43 (RFID IC); the substrate sheet 41 is a flexible insulating film (preferably a soft film or membrane made of polyimide PI material), having a film outer surface 410 and a film inner surface 411, and the film inner surface 411 is backed by adhesive, and the substrate sheet 41 is rolled and pasted on the tube surface 310 of the expanded diameter insulating sleeve 30; the antenna 42 is a made on the substrate sheet 4 1, the metal film antenna on the outer surface 410 of the film has a hole groove 420, and a slit-shaped notch 421 is provided on one side of the hole groove 420, so that the antenna 42 forms two poles of a loop on both sides of the slit-shaped notch 421, and the two sides of the slit-shaped notch 421 serve as pads 422 (Pad); the wireless radio frequency identification chip 43 is an ultra-high frequency wireless radio frequency identification chip (UHF RFID), which is provided on the pad 422 of the antenna 42 and electrically connected to the two poles of the loop of the antenna 42;

When the acupuncture needle 10 containing the wireless identifier 20 is taken out from the storage place, the identity is read by the activation reader (not shown) to start the control. Furthermore, after the acupuncture needle 10 is recycled to the waste place, the identity is checked by the reader (not shown) to confirm that it is fully recycled; the overall inventory and control process, the wireless identifier 20 on the acupuncture needle 10, through the isolation thickness T of the expanded insulating sleeve 30, the antenna 42 of the electronic tag 40 is isolated from the acupuncture needle 10 by a gap, and the expansion The tube surface 310 of the expanded diameter insulating sleeve 30 allows the antenna 42 on the substrate sheet 41 to be fully unfolded. In this way, the loop formed by the hole slot 420 of the antenna 42 can be used to resonate with the electromagnetic wave signal reflected from the acupuncture needle 10, so that the activation reader (not shown) or the point receiving reader (not shown) can stably read the ID identification code of the wireless radio frequency identification chip 43 against metal interference, and obtain the effect of long-distance reading and identification of the identity of the acupuncture needle 10.

According to the above-mentioned embodiment, as shown in Figures 1 and 4, the expanded diameter insulating sleeve 30 is a tube body formed of a soft rubber material, and the sleeve hole has an expanded hole compression elasticity, so that the sleeve body (preferably with adhesive) can be tightly sleeved and fixed on the needle handle 13.

According to the above-mentioned embodiment, as shown in Figures 1 and 3, the substrate sheet 41 is a metal foil (such as copper or aluminum foil) soft board, and the antenna 42 is directly manufactured by etching the metal foil surface; so that the antenna 42 manufactured on the substrate sheet 41 can be easily processed by an electronic circuit soft board.

According to the above-mentioned embodiments, as shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 4, the isolation thickness T of the tube body 31 of the expanded diameter insulating sleeve 30 is at least 0.4 mm, so that the antenna 42 can be made of a common electronic circuit soft board (thickness of about 0.2 mm) as the substrate sheet, and the antenna 42 and the acupuncture needle 10 can have a sufficient distance to prevent interference. The RFID system uses a frequency band of 922-928 MHz. The wireless identifier 20 is mounted on the handle 13 of the stainless steel acupuncture needle 10 as shown in FIG2. The theoretical reading distance measured by the reading distance test is 1.1-1.2 m (meters), which proves that the wireless identifier 20 is mounted on the handle 13 of the stainless steel acupuncture needle 10 and is not affected by the needle. The metal material of the moxibustion needle 10 is not affected; and the actual reading distance (due to the increase in equipment power) is 1.5 times the theoretical reading distance on average, indicating that the wireless identifier 20 set on the handle 13 of the stainless steel acupuncture needle 10 can reach a reading distance of 1.65~1.8m (meters) in the 922~928MHz frequency band, which meets the use and recycling (discarding) requirements of disposable needles in hospitals.

According to the above embodiment, it is feasible that, as shown in Figures 5 and 6, the antenna 42 is made on the outer surface 410 of the film of the substrate sheet 41, and an insulating protective film 44 (such as a film made of PET or PI material) is attached above the outer surface 410 of the film to cover the antenna 42 and the wireless radio frequency identification chip 43, so that the antenna 42 and the wireless radio frequency identification chip 43 can be isolated and protected from the outside world.

According to the above embodiment, preferably, as shown in Figures 7, 8, and 9, the electronic tag 40 is adhered to the tube surface 310 of the expanded diameter insulating sleeve 30 by the adhesive backing of the inner surface 411 of the rolled substrate sheet 41, and a shrink sleeve 50 (such as a heat shrink film sleeve) is placed on the rolled outer surface of the electronic tag 40 to completely seal the electronic tag 40; so that the antenna 42 and the wireless radio frequency identification chip 43 can be isolated and protected from the outside world, and the installation fixity of the wireless identifier 20 on the needle handle 13 is increased.

The above description is only illustrative and not restrictive of the present invention. Persons skilled in the art understand that many modifications, changes or equivalents can be made without departing from the spirit and scope defined in the attached specification, but they will all fall within the scope of protection of the present invention.

10: Acupuncture needles

11: Needle body

12: Needle tip

13: Needle handle

20: Wireless Identifier

30: Expanded diameter insulating sleeve

31: Bobbin body

310: barrel surface

32: Hole

40: Electronic label

41: substrate sheet

410: Outer surface of film

411: Inner surface of film

42: Antenna

420: hole slot

421: Slit-shaped gap

43: Wireless RF identification chip

Claims (5)

A wireless identification acupuncture needle structure is an acupuncture needle having a needle tip at the front end and a needle handle at the rear end. A wireless identifier is installed on the needle handle. The wireless identifier includes: an expanded diameter insulating sleeve, the center of the sleeve body of which is provided with a set of holes relative to the outer diameter of the handle of the needle handle. The sleeve hole and the tube surface of the sleeve body are defined as the isolation thickness, and the sleeve body is sleeved on the needle handle through the sleeve hole; an electronic tag, which is composed of a substrate sheet, an antenna and a wireless radio frequency identification chip (RFID) IC); the substrate sheet is a flexible insulating film sheet having an outer film surface and an inner film surface, and the inner film surface is backed by adhesive, and the substrate sheet is rolled and pasted on the tube surface of the expanded diameter insulating sleeve; the antenna is a metal film antenna made on the outer film surface of the substrate sheet, and has a perforated groove, and one side of the perforated groove is provided with A slit-shaped notch is formed so that the antenna forms two poles of a loop on both sides of the slit-shaped notch, and the two sides of the slit-shaped notch serve as pads; the wireless radio frequency identification chip is arranged on the pad of the antenna and electrically connected to the two poles of the antenna loop; wherein the substrate sheet is a metal foil soft board, and the antenna is directly manufactured by etching the metal foil surface. The wireless identification acupuncture needle structure as described in claim 1, wherein the expanded diameter insulating sleeve is a tube body formed of a soft rubber material. The wireless identification acupuncture needle structure as described in claim 1, wherein the isolation thickness of the tube body of the expanded diameter insulating sleeve is at least 0.4 mm. The wireless identification acupuncture needle structure as described in claim 1, wherein the antenna is made on the outer surface of the film of the substrate sheet, and an insulating protective film is attached above the outer surface of the film to cover the antenna and the wireless radio frequency identification chip. The wireless identification acupuncture needle structure as described in claim 1, wherein the electronic tag is adhered to the tube surface of the expanded diameter insulating sleeve by the adhesive backing of the inner surface of the film of the rolled substrate sheet, and a shrink sleeve that completely seals the electronic tag is placed on the rolled outer surface of the electronic tag.

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