Success Story University Hospital Basel

Indoor Navigation with the "USB Map" App

infsoft has developed the app "USB Map" for the University Hospital Basel. It provides a digital routing for mobile devices and helps patients, visitors and employees to quickly and easily find their way to an individually chosen destination on the premises. The app locates smartphones and tablets using approximately 2,500 beacons and sensor fusion. The interactive map includes points of interest such as sanitation, catering facilities, patient rooms, and treatment rooms. The app users are guided to these POIs via turn-by-turn navigation. This service offer not only improves the quality of stay in the clinic, but also has a positive impact on the organization of internal processes thanks to the integration of an employee function.

In the healthcare sector, indoor tracking of objects is particularly useful with regard to time saving, process optimization and theft protection. The current location of mobile medical equipment and beds can be viewed on a digital map at any time.

Coordination of Medical Equipment
Many medical devices such as mobile ultrasound or ECG devices change rooms or even wards several times a day. When the device is needed, it frequently takes a long time for employees to find it. Oftentimes devices remain untraceable for a considerable time. With the help of BLE beacons, which are attached to the devices and other assets, the position of the objects can be determined at any time and viewed on a digital map. This reduces search times and facilitates the coordination of devices between doctors and wards.
Use Case: Monitoring and Asset Tracking in the Healthcare Sector

Tracking Solution with Display Device
If, in addition to the locating of assets, like for example hospital beds, a display medium is desired, E-Ink Display Beacons can be used. All relevant information about the bed (next maintenance and cleaning date) and the patient (place and time of the next appointment) can be shown on the displays. The information can be changed manually or automatically by linking to the hospital information system.
Use Case: Tracking Solution with Information Display for Hospital Beds

Theft Protection
In addition, the tracking of assets with beacons can protect the objects against theft. As soon as the asset leaves a predefined area, an alarm can be triggered or an automated message can be sent to the responsible personnel.

Inventory Management
Tracking disposables optimizes inventory and order management. Both over- and understocking of materials are avoided with a tracking solution, as the current stock is always visible and a new purchase order can be triggered automatically as soon as this stock falls below a predefined level.
In a laboratory, for example, consumables can be tracked using RFID to minimize the number and amount of inventory items stored, decrease waste generation and control waste disposal costs. The articles are registered on arrival and automatically booked out when they are consumed.
Use Case: Tracking of Disposables in a Laboratory

Indoor tracking of people can be useful in many situations. On the one hand, safety aspects play a role, for example in monitoring high-risk patients and in evacuating staff and patients in emergencies. On the other hand, the recorded routes provide the basis for process optimization.

Mobile Emergency Button
In hospitals, dangerous situations frequently occur. For example, a patient may suddenly feel dizzy while moving around the building or an employee may be attacked while alone with a patient.
In the event of such an emergency, the location of patients and employees can be shared with other hospital staff.
Employees and patients typically wear a beacon wristband. In the event of a threatening situation, they can press a button and in addition to an emergency call, share their position with the responsible hospital staff. If a patient is unable to act because, for example, he has passed out, the emergency call can alternatively be triggered automatically after a certain time of motionlessness.
Use Case: An Emergency Call System for Elderly People in Nursing Homes

Monitoring of Vital Signs
By integrating Bluetooth Low Energy beacons into telemetry devices, the safety of patients in a critical state of health can be increased. In addition to seamless monitoring of a patient‘s vital signs, the patient‘s location can be accessed in an emergency.
Use Case: Patient Monitoring and Tracking in Hospitals

Fall Detection & Out-of-Bed-System
The fall of a patient can be registered using a beacon wristband with acceleration sensor and an infrared sensor mounted on the ceiling. The infrared sensor records thermal images of the room and can also determine whether a person is standing upright or lying on the floor. The accelerometer can be used to determine whether the patient is moving or motionless.
An infrared sensor can also be used to determine whether patients are lying in their beds or whether they have left it.
Use Case: Indoor Tracking of Patients in Hospitals

Clinical centers in most cases are complex buildings with several floor levels, many entrances and exits and confusing corridors. Most people who enter a hospital are in an exceptional situation and want to reach their destination as fast and as easy as possible. An indoor navigation and corresponding smartphone app can facilitate the stay in the hospital.

Indoor Navigation
Due to the complex building structures in hospitals, it can get difficult for patients, visitors and even employees to reach a certain location by the shortest route. Indoor navigation, wayfinding within buildings, facilitates orientation in the hospital.
A typical application for medical facilities is turn-by-turn navigation in an app (displaying directions on a digital map). Patients, visitors and staff can use the app to navigate to points of interest (e.g. ward, patient room, cafeteria, toilets) on the hospital premises.
To implement such a system, a client-based solution based on Bluetooth Low Energy is used. In order to use the navigation, an app must be installed on the user’s smartphone and Bluetooth must be activated on the phone. Smartphone sensors are always called upon to refine the positioning.
However, indoor navigation is also possible without automatic positioning – for example, when a digital building map is integrated into a digital signage system (multitouch kiosk/interactive terminal).
Use Case: Indoor Navigation and Digital Signage in Hospitals

Additional App Features
Additional functions can be integrated into an indoor navigation app. For example, a colleague finder is an interesting feature for hospital staff. When a specific doctor needs be consulted about a case, their location can be viewed on a digital map and navigation to that location can be started.
Patients can, for example, use the app to select meals for the next few days, book TV and telephone cards or find out about upcoming events in the hospital.
In addition, patients who come to the hospital for outpatient treatment can receive reminders and updates for their appointments via the app. In this way, on the one hand, late arrivals or missed appointments are avoided and on the other hand, waiting times for patients can be reduced.
For visitors of the hospital, the menu of the cafeteria or the opening hours of the clinic shop are particularly interesting. Moreover, the option of a sign translator can be very helpful for foreign visitors.