Solo
Design of a product for Nurse Call purposes
Information
Author: Schreuders, P.A.
Contributor: Freudenthal, A., Neger, A.J.
Faculty: Industrial Design Engineering
Department: Industrial Design
Programme: Master of Science Integrated Product Design
Type: Master thesis
Date: 27-5-2010
Keywords: Design | Nurse | Patient | Resident | Hospital | Care | Nurse call | Dementia
Abstract
In hospitals, care homes, nursing homes and other healthcare facilities patients and residents are dependent on the care of the nursing staff. They need to always be able to communicate with a nurse if they need help or when they want something. For these purposes Nurse Call systems and their associated products are used.
Currently, patients in a hospital can call a nurse by using the handset by their bed. However, user research showed that these handsets are often difficult to reach and patients ask each other to call a nurse when they can´t call themselves. Because of the trend towards individual rooms in hospitals, patients will need to always be able to call a nurse on their own.
Patients in a hospital will be in the same situation as the residents in a care home. These residents have transmitters that they wear which always allow them to call a nurse when they need assistance. However, these transmitters are not suitable to be used in hospitals. At the moment there are no transmitter like products available that would fulfil the needs that hospitals would have for these kinds of products.
A new Nurse Call product with complementary products has been designed. Solo is a personal device that the user wears. By pressing the button, a nurse can be called. Link is a speech device that is installed in locations where it is desired that the nurses can talk with the patients when they call. Base is used to store and recharge a Solo when it is not being used.
A management system will keep track of each Solo by monitoring its status and location. The nurses can assign a Solo to an individual patient and modify the settings if needed. The management system can warn the nurses if a Solo is lost or if the battery is low. For people with visual and/or auditory impairments Solo can provide additional auditory and/or tactile feedback. For people with dementia, Solo can be used for wanderer control so that they remain in the areas where the nurses can observe them. Removal detection alerts the nurses when a Solo is removed from the body of the patient.
Solo is worn by placing it in an exchangeable shell. Using the different shells, Solo can be worn around the wrist with an ID-strap or wristband, as a necklace or with a clip.
When a patient calls, the nurse receives a message on the phone. The nurse can see who is calling and if the patient is near a Link, the nurse can easily talk with the patient. This way, the nurse can determine the urgency of the call, let the patient know that the call will be answered and see if it is necessary to pick up something on the way over to the patient.
The concept has been tested with users, both patients and nurses, and was considered to be a better alternative to the current Nurse Call products.
