Fujitsu’s IoT Smart Sensing Solution Improves Patient Care at Slingeland Hospital in the Netherlands

Fujitsu and Slingeland Hospital in the Dutch city of Doetinchem co-created the solution with the hospital providing details of its healthcare monitoring requirements, and Fujitsu contributing its IoT expertise. Newly arrived patients are equipped with two small sensors – a modest “health patch” worn on the chest and a wireless blood pressure monitor. Together, these provide 24/7 monitoring of key vital signs, and can be tracked regardless of where the patient is within the hospital.

The sensors continuously monitor patients’ vital signs such as heartbeat, blood pressure and respiratory rate, while additional sensors mounted under each bed tracks patients sleep patterns and vital signs overnight. This readily available information eliminates the need to undertake frequent manual checks, freeing up more time for patient care. The ability to track trends in vital signs or to immediately identify deterioration in a patient's condition means that medical teams can also intervene more quickly.

Chrit van Ewijk, CEO at Slingeland Hospital, says: “We can now constantly monitor all patients’ vital signs, allowing our nursing staff to spend more time on what they want to do – that is actually looking after the patients. Even when they are extremely busy, they can prioritize any patient whose health is deteriorating, thanks to data-driven decision-making. In the near future, we expect to be able to predict a possible deterioration and to intervene in an early stage. Our patients also love the system, as they no longer need to be disturbed when routine measurements are taken. This is a smart solution for the hospital, as we are able to ensure better patient outcomes, to reduce treatment times and to plan our staffing more effectively.”

Ron Klaas, Healthcare business lead at Fujitsu in the Netherlands, comments: “The patient sensing system at Slingeland Hospital is a great example of how the smart application of IoT technology can be used to enrich the way that people do their jobs. Our approach is not technology-led – rather we start with the customer’s needs and focus on co-creating the right solution. In this way, we can identify unique opportunities for the business to become more agile, adaptable and efficient. In the case of Slingeland Hospital, they have only just started to see the power of IoT and we look forward to extending its benefits to additional projects in the future.”

Because of this successful project, Slingeland hospital plans to extend the technology to additional departments, and will also include the use of health patches to monitor the wellbeing and recovery of patients who have undergone surgery, even after they are discharged from hospital. In phase one of the project, data was exchanged with a personal health coach application. In the second phase, data will also be made available via the Hospital Information System.