– with picture gallery –
At Bern’s college of higher education in Biel/Bienne the research in medical technics is going to be in reach. The process of the production of medicine up to the delivery at hospital’s bedside is shown in an interesting way. The research rooms have been designed as real as possible for letting one’s mind wander.
The transport
From the labor over the storage and the route of transport up to the hospital – there are many possibilities to optimize this process. Thanks to the common bar code GS1 it’s possible to follow the way from a product to the goal. The technology behind could be improved in future.
An example
The name of our virtual patient is Madam Brönnimann and she has to go to the hospital. There she’ll get a little chip which one she needs to carry with her during her stay. Therewith she can be identified and also her data could be saved on the chip for example her medication or disease history. Once the infusion is delivered, it can be verified by the bar code.
If the product barcodes were available in a cloud, the infusion could be tracked back to the creation day and the route of transport. In case of a warning notice, e.g. the infusion is wrong and mustn’t be used, there’s still enough time for interruption so Madam Brönnimann would get an other one. But it get’s even better.
Surgery with hands and feet
During a surgery the surgeon looks at the screen where the little small camera in patient’s body displays the recording. There are a lot experiments concerning steering the screen display during a surgery. A sensitive foot pedal could be used for the navigation. Also a infrared sensor on the table beside could interpret the hand gesture and play it out correctly on the screen. The fantasy has no limitation.
Rather having patient’s data online
Today the physicians work mostly with paper and sticky notes to record quickly the patient’s findings or to review it. The possibility of using an iPad for the daily work is already given. Due to several programs the work could be accelerated, e.g. when the system is able to recognize some aspects and to make suggestions itself. As a example we were explained how it works by typing the body temperature into a special app. This software knows which numbers were in the realms of possibility and proposes only the numbers which weren’t out of question.
Drug on prescription
In pharmacies a new plan will be introduced. At first view it should be possible to see which drugs the patient needs to take, in which dose rate and at what time. The question is how older people would deal with it. What if there are newer information but the patient mixes it up? What if this plan is untraceable?
There are many advantages of the cross-linking of medical institutions. The prescriptions are available at any time, they can be modified online and there would be no danger of confusion.
Technical help at home
If someone cannot get along in the privacy of own home the research can work wonders. People with Alzheimer or such who are restricted in their movements can benefit enormously.
The smart wardrobe
The mirror-clad wardrobe in the bedroom has interesting features: a display welcomes Mme Brönnimann and shows her where which clothes have been placed. It has a led illumination over every shelf board. The display has only three buttons which can be pressed or turned, because old people are often overstrained with new technics and many keys. But how does that work exactly?
Every piece of clothing has an own RFID sewed in the label. The smart wardrobe recognizes the RFID, in which piece of clothes it is and where it is placed. Mme Brönnimann doesn’t has to search for it, but is able to pick it out in a single unerring hand movement.
Sensors under the floor
The security in everyday’s life of elder people is still a subject of research. There is a floor fitted with sensors. It is able to notice where somebody is staying and in which direction the people were moving. If someone slips, fells on the floor and stays there for a while the system could raise an alarm and call an emergency physician.
Conversation with the vacuum cleaner
Assuming that Mme Brönnimann is a lusty pensioner who practiceizes yoga – she might be lying on the floor for two minutes and does some breathing exercises. The system recognizes that she’s lying there unmovable. Before the alarming system calls the emergency, her condition could be verified very quickly. How? With a vacuum cleaner of course!
The vacuum cleaner drives itself to Mme Brönnimann. Thanks to its iPad and Skype installed, he’s able to call some contacts. The first one on the list will be called. Should this call fail, the vacuum cleaner would call the next number. The called person – this could be also a child of Mme Brönnimann – takes the video call and can see her and talk to her. In this way it’s possible to decide if help is needed or not.
Laundry basked updates Spitex
Also the laundry basket in the bathroom has some sensors which give feedback when it’s full. If someone isn’t any more capable to do the laundry, to drag it into the laundry, to bend down or to kneel, the smart laundry basket is the best solution. When it’s full, it gives a feedback itself to Spitex so that somebody should come and collect him. After the laundry is done it will be brought back, dry and folded.
Kitchen and bathroom in the think tank
A smart kitchen or a smart bathroom still are in a think tank at the BFH Biel. The related rooms still were in shell. The students can wonder about special capability of equipments and furniture for a while. Once the plan is finished the students are free to install, screw, fettle and configure.
It’s worth to visit the BFH in Biel. The guidance is very interesting and opens the eyes for the possibility in technics within the healthcare. We’re curious about the future developments.
