FloKi Health
Improving medical asset management with printed electronics
The challenge
Each year, the NHS loses vast amounts of time and money through lost or misplaced medical equipment, such as scanners, thermometers and crutches. Staff often spend at least an hour per shift looking for equipment to do their job, costing the NHS valuable time that could be spent caring for patients.
Northumberland-based FloKi Health Limited offers a solution to this challenge with printed electronic tracking tags. FloKi wanted us to develop its existing tags with a commercially viable prototype that was flexible, flat, and easily cleaned – properties that are desirable for use in a clinical setting to track the location of medical equipment.
We previously worked with FloKi Health through the EEMaC ERDF programme to develop an initial proof of concept for its tracking tags, using a BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) beacon and an integrated energy harvesting system.
For the next step of FloKi’s TRL journey, we worked with the European Regional Development Fund Sonnet Programme to develop a new working prototype. The device needed to be suitable for conventional and flexible printed circuit boards (PCBs), which involved separating the printable side of the circuit board from the PCB. We needed to create an economically viable and scalable prototype of this flexible model, with a lower cost per device than previous models.
How CPI helped
- Investigated the feasibility of mixing flexible and conventional electronics.
- Analysed the initial design.
- Investigated the functionality to increase broadcast frequency when the tag is moved.
- Developed an initial product and manufacturing process.
- Separated the printable side of the circuit from the printed circuit board.
- Hardware and firmware development.
Achievements
- Developed new product and manufacturing process.
- Created a lightweight and flexible tag that can be integrated on curved surfaces.
- Designed the printed electronics for the connection of a flexible solar panel and carried out the build, assembly and testing.
- Designed and printed 3D enclosure for the device based on the dimensions of the circuit design.
- Redesigned the electronics for a conventional PCB into a scalable prototype that was a lower cost per device.
- Significantly reduced power consumption requirements of the tag.
- Changed the material compatible with IPA so can be cleaned regularly.
- Separated the printable side of the circuit from the printed circuit board.
- De-risking the costs involved in product development.
- Progressed from TRL3 to TRL4.
Impact
Equipment tracking tags have the potential to address huge inefficiencies within the NHS. By saving precious clinical staff time, this could reduce waiting lists and increase budgets, staff morale and care quality, which are essential to a thriving and efficient healthcare system in the UK.
We successfully developed a new tracking tag prototype for FloKi Health, which is flexible, discreet, and easily cleaned – properties that make the tags ideal for use in a clinical setting. We also significantly reduced the power requirements and the cost of each tag, progressing the stage of the project from TRL3 to TRL4.
FloKi’s latest flexible tracking device is now ready to be trialled in a real-life medical setting. It has already attracted considerable interest from several healthcare trusts who are keen to trial the devices. We look forward to hearing feedback on the device very soon.
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