The Antwerp GZA hospitals with three campuses (Sint-Augustinus, Sint-Jozef and Sint-Vincentius) and over 1,000 beds take care of over a quarter of the medical care in the Antwerp area. GZA was looking for a solution for real-time monitoring of the temperature of blood pouches, food and/or medication, that would fire an alert when the temperature exceeds a pre-set threshold.
Challenge: Quality control in a hospital environment
“Quality control in hospital circles is very important. We carry out very strict checks when it comes to respecting temperatures. We therefore needed a flexible and reliable solution, which allowed us to follow all regulations and at the same time could limit the amount of administrative work”, says Achiel Lejon, responsible for the infrastructure of GZA.
Several solutions were examined. The choice of GZA fell on PHI DATA and AeroScout.
Solution: flexibility and integration with existing infrastructure
Using 230 AeroScout T5 Sensor Wi-Fi tags, that are located in the cooling cells, the management platform MobileView manages the temperature wirelessly, creates automatic reports and fires an alert when the temperature suddenly increases or decreases. All this within the wireless network that is currently in use at the different campuses of the hospital group, which enabled a quick implementation without any inconvenience for medical staff or patients.
Other applications, such as staff safety are currently being tested. As central hospital GZA is increasingly confronted with aggression and security risks. About 30 employees of the Saint-Vincentius hospital were equipped with a Wi-Fi tag with call button that they can press when there is danger or when they feel threatened. The security services are notified and can easily locate them, allowing them to assist them faster.
Result: Multifunctionality and the option to add new applications
“Multifunctionality is the biggest advantage of the PHI DATA solution: we get a framework on which to build further,” says Jan de Sitter, responsible for ICT at GZA. “On the one hand, the solution is easy to integrate with the existing Wi-Fi network and on the other hand it allows us to integrate new RFID functionality at a limited cost. Our staff safety is already in testing phase. The localisation of medical equipment (such as wheelchairs) is an option we are already investigating.”
“PHI DATA is a partner that not only delivers technology, but thinks along with the customer and understands the needs of the healthcare sector”, says Wim Verduyn, AeroScout Manager Benelux & France. “Based on our Visibility Solutions, we offer healthcare institutions an affordable solution, that can be integrated in the existing infrastructure and that has proven its solidity.”
“Multifunctionality is the biggest advantage of the PHI DATA solution: we get a framework on which to build further. On the one hand the solution can be perfectly integrated with the existing Wi-Fi network and on the other hand it allows us to integrate new RFID functionality at a limited cost.”
Jan de Sitter, Responsible for ICT at GZA
Solution(s): Condition Monitoring
