Ekahau Real Time Location System (RTLS) is the only Wi-Fi-based asset and patient tracking solution that can operate over any brand or generation of Wi-Fi network while offering sub room-, room-, floor- and building-level accuracy. Safety and high quality patient care are two parameters that define the mission of most hospitals and care homes today. These two can sometimes be compromised with ambulatory patients such as “wanderers” and elopers. These patients can disappear in a matter of seconds and pose a threat to not only themselves, but others as well.
-
A Real Time Locationing Systems (RTLS) helps to improve patient safety and the quality of care by reporting the whereabouts of patients at all times.
- Ekahau RTLS solution helps hospital and care home staff keep track of wandering or eloping patients and alerts of events or incidents that require immediate attention. Ekahau RTLS sees where all patients wearing the wristband tag are at any time, anywhere within the building.Of the ambulatory patients in a hospital or care home, the wanderers and elopers can be the hardest to manage. A wandering patient may have a cognitive disorder and be lost somewhere on the hospital campus. An eloper, on the other hand, does not want to be in the hospital and does not want to be found. In each case, locating the patient immediately can mean the difference between life or death for that patient.
The rechargeable EkahauT301W wristband tag can be worn by a patient around their wrist or ankle depending on the type of patient and situation. The tag emits a periodic signal to the network that is then captured by the Ekahau system to calculate location and to apply business rules and alerts associated with that tag or group of tags. The tag has a highly sensitive motion sensor that cannot only detect motion but also detect if the tag has been removed or tampered with.
A patient wearing the T301W can have specific mobility rules applied to them, such as “should not leave this floor” or “allowed full mobility – but alert if they go outside”. If a patient wanders, but within limits allowed by the system, caregivers can see this on a general system status screen. Should the patient exit an area or go through a door they are not supposed to, then the staff, security, transport and any other department on the escalation list can be alerted to address the situation. Any type of entry or exit event can be monitored and respectively alerted on. Staff members carrying the Ekahau Wi-Fi Staff Badge tags can receive alerts while on the move and be notified of the status and whereabouts of their patients.
The Ekahau T301W has a button on it that can easily be configured to act as a “help” button or signal some other message when it is pressed. Because the Ekahau system has full two-way communication capabilities over Wi-Fi, the tag itself can be alerted via illuminating the multi-color LEDs on the front or by activating the built in vibration unit. These capabilities of the tags can be configured to signal events to the patient such as “Please return to your room”, “Time for your medications” etc
Click on this link to watch an Ekahau video which highlights the features of the solution http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sGLCpxHFBE
With Ekahau, your RTLS solution can be up and running in a matter of days or a few weeks, not months.
View Ekahau Datasheet Wi-Fi Tags (PDF, 1.3MB)
View Ekahau RTLS Controller (PDF, 735KB)
