Goals of the project
The goal of this project is to improve perioperative flow in hospitals by creating an app that will update a specific surgical patient’s healthcare providers of their status and location in the hospital throughout their stay and operation. Using existing infrastructure and technology will lead to a successful product because healthcare providers are already familiar with the technology we are proposing to use (smartphones) and costs of implementation will be minimized.
Nature of the Collaboration
To date, the team has worked together on every step of the process. The team has brainstormed, held meetings with clinicians and mentors, and is currently together to build a wearable tracking device (worn by patients), in combination with a receiver, to reach our overall goal of improving perioperative flow.
Skills
Design/Coding: The team has created hardware that will be used to track a patient’s location as they move around the hospital. We are using microcontrollers with low-energy Bluetooth modules to complete this aspect of the project. Ultimately, we want the patient’s locations to be displayed on a user-friendly app for healthcare providers to use.
Tools
Arduino: microcontroller used for receiver of the Bluetooth module’s signal
Bluetooth modules (low energy): what tracks the patient’s location
Process
So far, the process for this project has progressed from brainstorming to proof of concept testing. The team brainstormed with a clinician and other mentors to narrow down the scope of the project, and is now building a first generation prototype of a wearable tracking device and receiver.
Milestones
The team is currently working towards its first major milestone, which is creating a first generation prototype of the wearable tracking device (low energy Bluetooth module) and a receiver to receive information sent by the wearable tracking device.
Challenges encountered
The team has faced two main challenges. First, the team has encountered trial and error with creating our first generation prototype. Each error teaches the team what aspect of the prototype needs to be improved to make the tracking device work. The team also tends to get ahead of themselves and struggle to determine what ideas are feasible for the time frame they have to work with.
Major outcomes
The project is currently yielding the design of the first generation prototype. This should be completed within the next couple of weeks.
Innovations, impact and successes
Although the project is in its early stages, it will improve perioperative flow in hospitals to increase efficiency and decrease human error.
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