Medical Asset Tracking Application with Wireless Sensor Networks

Abstract

Small sized devices with communication capability are accepted in real applications recent years and the applications increase business efficiency. We developed an asset tracking application using a wireless sensor network. The application consists of three components: a wireless sensor network, a middleware, and a user interface. The sensor network consists of 21 mobile nodes, 29 reference nodes, and one gateway. Each mobile node equipped with a location sensor is attached to one medical asset so that the application tracks 21 medical assets. The middleware abstracts the specification of the sensor network. The graphical user interface is developed according to the requirements of nurses and doctors of Gil Medical Center in Korea so the application fits the asset tracking business of the medical center. The application tracks mobile medical assets in the emergency room of Gil Medical Center. The application shortens the searching time for mobile medical assets from about twenty minutes to within one minute. By shortening the searching time of the assets, the nurses can use more times to take care of patients and the patients can receive better medical services.