University of Guelph

March 7, 2016

Real-Time Advanced Medical RFID Bracelet

Technical Memo

Authors:
Angela Gaiero #046199

Emily Deignan #051524

Sebastian Sadowski #051459

Travis Pootoolal #051538

Shirley Javier #051515

Zachary Vander Klippe #051576

Presented to:

Health Canada
WE COMMIT TO DELIVER OUR FINAL REPORT TO OUR INDUSTRY CONTACT AND WE GRANT PERMISSION TO THE COURSE
PROFESSORS TO DELIVER OUR FINAL REPORT SHOULD WE FAIL TO DO SO.

Table of Contents
Introduction ............................................................................................................................................................ 2
Problem statement for calculations .......................................................................................................... 2
Problem Analysis .................................................................................................................................................. 3
Background Information ............................................................................................................................... 3
Assumptions and Material Properties ..................................................................................................... 3
Assumptions .................................................................................................................................................. 3
Material Properties ..................................................................................................................................... 4
Physical Description of the Design ............................................................................................................ 4
Security and Encryption of Data ................................................................................................................. 5
Microcontroller and Communication Interfacing ................................................................................ 5
Power Supply ..................................................................................................................................................... 7
RFID Tag Implementation............................................................................................................................. 7
References ............................................................................................................................................................... 9
Appendices ........................................................................................................................................................... 11
Appendix A - Technical Diagrams ........................................................................................................... 11
Appendix B - Referenced Images ............................................................................................................ 11

Introduction
This document aims to provide the technical background of the design and to prove
feasibility. It also aims to further support the design decisions that have been made thus
far; this involves using concrete data from manufacturers and presenting calculations for
any applicable components. The calculations in this report will mostly focus on the power
consumption and data transmission of the bracelet; specifically, it will outline how the
power will be distributed in terms of functionality. The data transmission will be supported
with calculations that will be used to justify the interfacing of the different electrical
components: this includes the battery, the microcontroller, the RFID (Radio Frequency
Identification) chip/receiver, and the built-in display.
A challenging aspect of this design is ensuring that the electrical components power
supply needs are met, thus ensuring that the device can continuously function. The major
sources of power consumption in the design are the microcontroller and the display; this
means that these aspects of the design require very thorough technical research in order to
produce a product that will consume minimal power and be active for very long periods of
time. The microcontroller chosen to control the bracelet must then be able to drive these
components, be small enough to maintain the discrete form of the bracelet, and provide all
of the necessary features to allow the bracelet to function as reliably as possible.
Another design criteria that requires particular attention is safety. This means that
the design must provide the user with a comfortable experience, which can be attributed to
choosing a material that is hypo-allergenic, water resistant, and is able to accommodate
different sizes of wrists. Safety also encompasses the information stored in the bracelet;
due to the sensitive manner of information such as the medical history and emergency
contact of the patient, strong authentication methods must be implemented in order to
prevent unauthorized parties from accessing the information stored in the bracelets RFID
chip.
In addition to RFID security, the configuration of the RFID technology needs to be
accurately implemented for the design to function properly. The key factor relating to this
involves designing an antenna circuit that corresponds to the frequency of the reader.

Problem statement for calculations

The feasibility of this project is entirely dependent on garnering relevant technical
information for each component, all while keeping the safety and security of the user in
mind. In terms of calculations, the biggest aspect of the project that requires calculations is
the overall power consumption, which dictates the practicality of the bracelet itself.
Calculations will determine if its feasible for the user to have a bracelet that runs on kinetic
energy without running out of power too often to cause significant inconvenience.

It is also important to calculate the charging time of the bracelet which contributes
to its utility; the design must utilize low-power technologies that minimize charge times so
that the bracelet maintains the longest active period possible.
Another important calculation is the range of RFID transmission, to make sure that
the information is relayed in a constrained manner and any unauthorized access to the
sensitive information it contains is prevented. In addition to range, the calculation for the
component values used to create the antenna circuit are important to guarantee the RFID
readers frequency matches the carrying frequency of the RFID tag.

Problem Analysis
Background Information
After thorough investigation it seems as though there is a great deal of research and
development being conducted on energy harvesting systems for ultra low power (ULP)
solutions from ambient energy such as light, heat, motion and radio frequency (RF). 10
Specifically, harvesting kinetic energy from motion and vibrations with the rise in
popularity in wearable technologies such as fitness trackers and smartwatches. 1,5,6,8 In fact
there is presently a smartwatch called Element1 on the market that is kinetically
powered. It features a 230mAh battery is charged through the users movements, which
provides the device with sufficient power for a 1.33 round 240x240 touch screen LCD
display, pedometer, GPS and Bluetooth 4.0 wireless communication.
Further investigation into OLED displays found that Active Matrix OLEDs are
significantly more power efficient than Passive Matrix OLEDs, as well as that the size of the
display is also significant to the display's power consumption.3

Assumptions and Material Properties

Assumptions
SWB Technologies assumes that a 230mAh battery will provide sufficient energy to
power the devices microcontroller and display. This is a reasonable assumption being that
the majority of fitness trackers and smartwatches contain similar batteries, but also face
significantly higher power consumption as a result of the user frequently utilizing the
display and having real time sensors. It is assumed that the kinetic energy harvesting
component will be outsourced and can sufficiently supply power to this battery, as this is
the same battery used in a kinetically powered smartwatch that is already on the market.
This device can be alternatively charged via a USB charge cable, which is primarily
available for the user to be able to access and update their medical information stored on
the device. It should be noted that in the event of an emergency medical professionals such
3

as paramedics and hospital personnel do not require the device to be powered to access
the users medical information. However, in the event that a non-medical personnel such as
a bystander aiding someone in a medical emergency is able to quickly access critical
medical information, selected by the user, which can be read from the display. This also
justifies the assumption that the power consumption of the display is minimal as unlike a
fitness tracker or smartwatch, the user isnt constantly using the screen.
SWB technologies also assumes that the AMOLED (Active Matrix Organic Light
Emitting Diode) display will be outsourced to a company who specializes in OLED displays.
For the purpose of these calculations it is assumed that a 1.4 Passive Matrix OLED display
data is suitable as the data is not readily available for micro AMOLED displays yet; this
technology is just starting to enter the market. It should be noted that this is a reasonable
assumption because in reality, the display would be more efficient since AMOLED displays
are more power efficient and the display is expected to be slightly smaller.
It can also be assumed that when the device is on standby, the display does not
require any power and the microcontroller is the the sole source of power consumption.

Material Properties
There are multiple companies marketing Thermoplastic Polyurethane products that
could have been appropriate material selections for this design. A material with an 80
Shore A hardness was deemed suitable for this design implementation. 12 Irogran TPU
Resin - General Purpose manufactured by Huntsman can be considered a suitable example
material. It possesses properties such as: Tensile Strength: 6527 psi, Ultimate Elongation:
620%, 100% Tensile Modulus: 856 psi, 300% Tensile Modulus: 1740 psi, Tear Strength:
342 pli, Abrasion Resistance: 30 mm13. It also possesses hydrolysis resisting properties due
to its chemical composition, which is ideal in a product that is desired to be weather
resistant.14

Physical Description of the Design

The comfort level, durability, water resistance and shock resistance of thermoplastic
polyurethane products make it an ideal material selection for the wristband design. In the
design implementation, a band will be configured to be worn around a persons forearm
that includes a molded body. The body will contain two molded straps; the first molded
strap will be extending away from the first end of the molded body, a second molded strap
will be extended from a second end of the molded body opposite the first end. The molded
body itself will be configured by the joining of the two bands to encircle the persons
forearm. The first strap, the second strap, and the receptacle substantially may define a
band plane that is substantially perpendicular to the limb axis of the persons forearm. The
first strap may have a plurality of holes distributed in some uniform size along a portion of
its length. The second strap will include a corresponding head and peg component of
4

polycarbonate material, with the size of the peg uniform with the size of the holes
distributed along the length of the first band. This will allow for the adjustability of the
band to limbs of varying sizes.
The band will be injection molded with all electrical components for optimal
enclosure, protection and unity. The band will also include a cavity within the molded body,
the cavity sized to receive an OLED display integrated with the electric components to be
embedded in the band. The cavity opening will be sized to be smaller in cross-sectional
area than the maximum cross-sectional area of the display in a plane substantially parallel
to the opening when the display is fully inserted into the cavity. Another smaller cavity will
included on the interior facing side of the molded band to allow for a charging port.

Security and Encryption of Data

The safety of the users personal information is of utmost importance, which is why
the design will contain strong, symmetric 8-bit RFID authentication to ensure that
information is only released to authorized devices. This AES (Advanced Encryption
Standard) technique uses a private key that is embedded in both the RFID chip and the
receiver; in the event of an exchange of information, the following steps will occur:
1. The sender (B) transmits a random, known number to the receiver (A)
2. The receiver (A) encrypts the random number using the key and sends it back to B
3. B proofs and verifies the identity of A by cross-referencing its key with the decoded
key from A; if successful, the information from the RFID chip is then released.
This RFID authentication protocol has been integrated into the ISO/IEC 18000
standard, which describes the parameters for radio frequency identification and
application standards2,7. Since all components of the closed system (including bracelets and
receivers) will be manufactured from the same location, it is possible to pre-configure
authentication keys that will ensure the integrity of the system. AES does not work very
well in an open system, which allows new users to join and configure their own (because of
the keys being centralized). This will not be a problem in this implementation since
patients will be added to the system and new nodes (or in this case, bracelets) will be
added by a centralized unit (in this case, Health Canada). The general flow of instructions
and how the keys interact with each tag can be seen in the Appendix A.9

Microcontroller and Communication Interfacing

The microcontroller will be act as the brains of the device. Its part number is
RF430FRL152H and it comes from Texas Instruments. This microcontroller has been
chosen because of its very small power consumption and its built in RF communication
receiver. It will be programmed to manage the RF communication according to the security

standard. Figure #1 shows the way this chip will be connected to the devices other
electrical components.

Figure # 1: Block diagram displaying connections between various components and how
they interface
The microcontroller contains enough nonvolatile memory to store up to 2 kilobytes
(or 2048 characters in ASCII format). This is the memory space that will be used for the
user to store their data. This data will be saved in a simple text format, and can represent
about one page of text. This way it can be transmitted quickly and understood without a
complicated reading device. It would also be possible to include some simple html style
formatting in this way. A file with reasonable data (such as emergency contact information,
medical history and drug allergies) was created and the amount of data required to store
this information was within 400 bytes. Therefore 2 kilobytes should be more than enough
space to store medical data. The data stored on the RFID module can be modified by the
user through the microcontroller when connected to a computer interface. 15,16
In order to connect to computers, the device will include a USB port. This port will
be connected to a USB chip. Since the microcontroller does not have support for a USB port,
it is necessary to add another chip to the design that can enable this connection. Texas
Instruments has a chip with the part number TUSB3410, which should work well for this
purpose. The function of this chip will be to simulate a USB flash drive when it is connected
to a computer, and to bridge the gap between the information that the computer writes to
the chip and the internal microcontroller. This will allow any computer to connect to it

easily and update or read the data that is saved upon the device. The USB connection will
also function as the charging port for the device, but the USB chip will only need to be
powered when the device is pluged in, which means that this chip will have no effect on the
battery life.15
The display will be able to display some of the data that is held within the
nonvolatile memory, but since the screen is relatively small it can only show a small piece
of the whole data at a time. In order to save battery the screen will remain off most of the
time, but a single press of the button will wake it up and the user's chosen information will
be displayed.

Power Supply
Based on a 230mAh battery capacity, the initial charge time via USB connection with
a current of 100mA, because the 500mA would exceed 1C and the guidelines for charging
230

Lithium Polymer (LiPo) batteries is around 0.5C (500= 0.46C), would take: (Note: Q=It,
where Q is the charge, I is the current and t is the time) =

230
100

= 2.3. This is a

relatively quick time to fully charge the device, but it is expected that the requirements for
charging via USB connector will be minimal with the by harvesting kinetic energy from the
users motion.
Since the display is meant as a means of displaying the medical information to nonmedical personnel, there is a significantly low usage time for the display. This means that
the microcontroller will be on standby mode (16A) until the button is pressed to trigger
an interrupt waking the microcontroller into active mode (140A) to display the users
information on an AMOLED display (<

100
3.3

= 30.3mA).

In standby mode, the device without any kinetic energy harvested and from fully
charged would last: =

230
16

= 14,375 1.65 .

In active mode the device without any kinetic energy harvested and from fully
230

charged would last: = 140+30.3 7.5 .

As a result, this battery is sufficient to power this microcontroller and an AMOLED
display. Additionally, because power demands are so low being that the display is very
infrequently used it is expected that most people are able to generate sufficient energy to
keep the device powered.

RFID Tag Implementation

The RFID technology used in this bracelet be an internal RFID peripheral within the
microcontroller. This chip utilizes RFID technology by having two antenna input pins that
control the reading frequency. For this to work, an inductor and capacitor are combined to
7

create a second order system which has its own resonance frequency. This frequency is
transmitted to the tag from the RFID reader to generate resonance in the chip and when
established, data communication begins. This chip transfers data at a carrier frequency of
13.56 MHz 7kHz.
The resonance frequency of a second order circuit is modeled by
0 = 2 =

where f is the carrier frequency, L is the inductance of the circuit and C is the capacitance of
the circuit. This model is based upon the assumption that the resistance of the circuit is
close enough to zero in order to be ignored.
Any value of L can result in the desired resonance frequency when the
corresponding value of C is chosen, however it is necessary to pick an inductor that is large
enough to properly collect the signal. The higher that L is relative to C the more tightly
tuned the circuit will be, meaning that it will only oscillate at the frequency that is desired.
This is because there is some unavoidable resistance within the inductor and the traces on
the board. Choosing a reasonable inductance of 1.8H for our design with a resonance
frequency of 13.56MHz, the resulting capacitance will be 76.53pF. The inductance is a
common value of retail inductors.15 The capacitance will need to be obtained by combining
a fixed capacitor approximately 75pF in parallel with a variable capacitor with a range of
5pF. This will allow for adjustment of the frequency when the device is manufactured to
account for greater tolerances within the individual inductor and the capacitor.
This microcontroller also is able to draw energy from the oscillation of the antenna
circuit, which can power the microcontroller. This is an important design feature because it
makes it possible for the reader to activate and read from the device even if the battery is
dead. In addition to being able to power the microcontroller through the antenna the
microcontroller also incorporates an output voltage pin. This can possibly be used to
power other circuits within our design or used to charge the battery. This feature may not
be used though because the power that is collected may be too small to be worth the extra
design effort.

References
1. Anthony, S. (2013, July 11). Kinetic energy harvesting: Everyday human activity
could power the internet of things | ExtremeTech. Retrieved March 05, 2016, from
http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/161079-kinetic-energy-harvestingeveryday-human-activity-could-power-the-internet-of-things
2. Feldhofer, M., Dominikus, S., & Wolkerstorfer, J. (2004). Strong Authentication for
RFID Systems Using the AES Algorithm. Lecture Notes in Computer Science
Cryptographic Hardware and Embedded Systems - CHES 2004, 357-370.
3. Fernndez, M., Casanova, E., & Alonso, I. (2015). Review of Display Technologies
Focusing on Power Consumption. Sustainability, 7(8), 1085410875. MDPI AG.
Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su70810854
4. GLASSNINJA. (2015, July 16). Element1 Smartwatch w/ Kinetic Battery. Retrieved
March 5, 2016, from http://www.coolwearable.com/element1-smartwatch/
5. Gorlatova, M., Sarik, J., Grebla, G., Cong, M., Kymissis, I., & Zussman, G. (2014).
Movers and Shakers: Kinetic Energy Harvesting for the Internet of Things (pp. 1-9,
Tech. No. 2014-03-27). New York, NY: Department of Electrical Engineering Columbia
University.
Retrieved
March
5,
2016,
from
http://arxiv.org/pdf/1307.0044v3.pdf
6. Huang, H. (2014). Human-powered inertial energy harvesters: the effect of
orientation, location and activity on the obtainable electrical power (Doctoral
dissertation, University of Southampton).
7. Information technology. Radio frequency identification for item management.
Elementary tag licence plate functionality for ISO/IEC 18000 air interface
definitions. (n.d.).
8. Mitcheson, P. D., & Yeatman, E. M. (2008). Energy harvesting for pervasive
computing. PerAda Magazine, 10.2417(2200809.1306), 1-3.
9. Pham, T. A., Hasan, M. S., & Yu, H. (2012). A RFID mutual authentication protocol
based on AES algorithm. Proceedings of 2012 UKACC International Conference on
Control.
10. Raju, M., & Grazier, M. (2010). Texas Instruments - Harvesting Energy: ULP meets
energy harvesting: A game-changing combination for design engineers. Retrieved
March 5, 2016, from http://www.ti.com/lit/wp/slyy018a/slyy018a.pdf
11. Texas Instruments - RF430FRL15XH NFC ISO 15693 Sensor Transponder. Retrieved
March 5, 2016, from http://www.ti.com/lit/ds/symlink/rf430frl152h.pdf
12. Durometer Shore Hardness Scale. (n.d.). Retrieved March 07, 2016, from
http://www.smooth-on.com/Documents-Duromete/c1351_1370/index.html
13. Irogran TPU Resin - General Purpose Data Sheet. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://www.calsak.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/A80H4698.pdf

14. A Guide to Thermoplastic Polyurethanes. (n.d.). Retrieved from

http://www.huntsman.com/portal/page/portal/polyurethanes/Media
Library/global/files/guide_tpu.pdf
15. RF430FRL152H (ACTIVE). (n.d.). Retrieved March 07, 2016, from
http://www.ti.com/product/rf430frl152h/description
16. TUSB3410 (ACTIVE). (n.d.). Retrieved March 07, 2016, from
http://www.ti.com/product/TUSB3410

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Appendices
Appendix A - Technical Diagrams

Fig. A-1: A General Model of an RFID Chip Module

Fig. A-2: Mathematical Representation of AES Using a Private Key

Appendix B - Referenced Images

Figure B-1: RF430FRL152H, an NFC Sensor Transponder, With Low-Power Microcontroller

11

Figure B-2: 230mAh, 3.7V LiPo battery that is 5 mm(H)x18 mm(W)x30 mm(L)

Figure B-3: 1.3 round AMOLED display

Figure B-4: 1.4 PMOLED display assumed

12