“The first step in solving a problem doesn’t usually involve a process of intense reflection but rather a relaxed and informal discussion about all kinds of issues, big and small, from the worlds of business, society, politics, and technology - from the everyday world, in other words“, Pohl explains. This gets really interesting when it brings together people with different backgrounds, training, and preferences, and when the discussion turns to topics that cause difficulties in our everyday lives. A good example of this is the use of electronic passports or radio frequency identification (RFID) chip cards, which can easily be read by unauthorized persons. It was one of these casual conversations among developers that first led to the idea of using a dielectric cover to interfere with the electronics, and thus block access to the information on the chip - by everyone except airport security authorities. Today this invention is covered by a European patent belonging to Siemens.

“It was teams like these that led to almost all of the 475 inventions for which I was either directly or jointly responsible at Siemens“, Pohl explains. Pohl’s primary concern here is to be able to anticipate as many future developments as possible, so that Siemens can file for the corresponding patents.

Naturally such teams also work together in planned and structured invention workshops, especially in the context of innovation projects, in order to identify and evaluate areas where Siemens may be able to exercise intellectual property rights. This continually leads to the formation new groups, some which only exist for very brief periods.

The use of RFID technology in hospital environments is one example of how expertise from different areas can result in concrete products. Special radio wristbands featuring an RFID chip have already been successfully tested in a pilot project involving 200 patients at New York’s Jacobi Medical Center. The chip contains patient data, which is accessed by hospital staff using a reader unit. To do this, a staff member calls up the central computer via WLAN and opens the patient’s electronic medical record on a PC or PDA. And physicians can add information to the record in the same way.

Siemens also has developed an RFID watch that can transmit heart rate data, as measured by a sensor, and the location of patients at risk, so that a doctor can intervene immediately in emergencies. Using such a system requires installation of antennas throughout the clinic, which makes it possible to determine the patient’s position.

The latest innovation from one of Pohl’s teams exploits another aspect of this RFID capability. Certain areas in hospitals are strictly off limits for many patients - including those with pacemakers or people with particularly weak immune systems who must avoid all contact with infectious patients. The entire hospital can be divided into danger and non-danger zones, which are then stored in the central computer. The areas that a patient must not enter are stored on an RFID wristband. As soon as the patient passes a reader unit marking the start of a danger zone, an alarm system is activated. This might feature a warning light above a door, in combination with a siren or other alarm signal, or simply an automatic lock that prevents the door from being opened.

“This invention boosts patient safety and also protects the hospital against liability claims“, Pohl explains. In hospitals that already use RFID systems, it can be installed with little trouble and expense. For Siemens this means another good addition to its portfolio, and even greater innovation - generating more business from new ideas.

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