Ultra Wide Band Radar Based Tamper-Resistant Clinical Asset Tracking System (ATS)

Abstract

From a patient safety perspective, time-consuming searches for life saving equipments or drugs have been the subject of a hazard report or recall. In addition to yielding significant time saving asset tracking systems (ATS) ensure all assets tracking. In this work, an ultra wide band (UWB) tracking system is developed, that automatically captures the movement of in-house patients and clinical staff. The whole system comprises of position assessment block (PAB), position management block (PMB) and application processing unit (APU), connected through UWB and wireless LAN network. System is tested in a typical hospital ward environment for diversified UWB receiver tracking methodologies, such as point mode tracking (PMT), linear scan mode tracking (LSMT), bat mode tracking (BMT) and panoramic tracking (PMT). Characterization of suitable tracking schemes is also discussed. Robustness of system is verified for across various position detection algorithms e.g., angle of arrival (AOA), received signal strength (RSS) and time of arrival (TOA). In addition to helping staff locate equipment, our ATS is able to facilitate use and distribution of inventory by collecting and facilitating the of data on equipment location over time and hence prone to be tampered.