RFID in Radiotherapy
A Partnership with Cablon Medical BV, Focused on Safer, Smarter Radiotherapy
In radiotherapy, precision matters. Every treatment depends on the patient being positioned accurately and consistently. Even small deviations can affect treatment quality, patient comfort, and overall safety.
That is why Cablon Medical BV continuously invests in technologies that support safe, accurate, and efficient radiotherapy workflows for hospitals across the Netherlands, Germany, and beyond.
At the center of this mission is CNERGY, Cablon Medical’s in-house developed treatment verification platform. The software supports healthcare professionals with patient identification, imaging, patient positioning, dose control, and treatment verification — minimizing the risk of human error and improving treatment outcomes.
The Challenge
Radiotherapy departments rely on individual patient support devices to ensure patients are positioned correctly during treatment. Traditionally, these supports are identified using barcode labels that must be scanned manually with handheld readers.
This process created several challenges:
- Barcode labels require direct line-of-sight scanning, making the workflow time-consuming.
- Labels can become damaged during frequent cleaning and disinfection processes.
- Manual handling increases the risk of delays and incorrect support identification.
In November 2024, Cablon Medical approached RFIDdirect with a key question:
Could RFID technology improve the identification and tracking of patient support devices in daily radiotherapy operations?
More Than Delivering a Product
What followed was not a standard supplier-customer relationship. It became a collaborative development process focused on understanding the real clinical environment before selecting technology.
Together, both teams analyzed the treatment setup in detail. One of the biggest challenges quickly became clear: treatment tables and support devices are often made from carbon fiber — a material known to negatively affect RFID performance.
Rather than forcing a predefined solution, the teams worked step-by-step through testing, validation, and optimization.
Different RFID tags were evaluated extensively in real clinical conditions at a hospital in Arnhem, The Netherlands. Multiple iterations and practical tests were needed before the best-performing configuration was identified.
The final solution combined:
- Impinj RAIN R700 RFID readers
- Times-7 RFID antennas
- RFIDdirect’s CAP reader application software
- Seamless integration with the CNERGY platform from Cablon Medical
Cablon Medical also designed a dedicated frame to integrate the scanning system efficiently into the clinical workflow. This device contains all the hardware and is located above the treatment table.
This project demonstrated that developing a reliable healthcare solution takes more than selecting hardware. It requires listening, understanding the operational environment, testing in practice, and improving together until the solution truly works in daily use.
The Result
Today, the RFID solution is used daily in hospitals in The Netherlands and Germany, generating positive feedback from clinical users. The working principle is shown here.
The system helps hospitals to:
- Streamline radiotherapy workflows
- Reduce patient processing time
- Improve the utilization of available equipment
- Minimize the risk of incorrect support device usage
- Increase patient safety and patient comfort
A Shared Commitment to Innovation
The collaboration between Cablon Medical and RFIDdirect shows that successful innovation is built on partnership.
Complex healthcare environments demand more than off-the-shelf products. They require cooperation, patience, practical testing, and a shared commitment to achieving the best possible outcome.
Because meaningful innovation is not created overnight — it is developed together.
