Radio frequency identification devices (RFID) are becoming a popular means of keeping track of things, including helping to identify patients in a hospital, and revealing the location of equipment. Dutch scientists are now claiming that RFIDs can have a negative effect on life-saving equipment, even in some cases turning off critical medical devices. Research conducted at Vrije University in Amsterdam, tested the effect of holding both "passive" and powered RFIDs close to 41 medical devices. According to this BBC report "A total of 123 tests, three on each machine, were carried out, and 34 produced an "incident" in which the RFID appeared to have an effect - 24 of which were deemed either "significant" or "hazardous". In some tests, RFIDs either switched off or changed the settings on mechanical ventilators, completely stopped the working of syringe pumps, caused external pacemakers to malfunction, and halted dialysis machines." Proponents of the technology say that the type of RFID used in medical situations are much less likely to have occurances than those used in retail situations and that any medical rated tag would have to meet a standard, meaning it is very unlikely that interference with medical devices would occur.
