Find examples of devices that use radio frequency technology and those that use infrared.

Recommend
at least two IR devices and two 802.11 devices to be used in the design of the WPAN of your local
hospital. Compare costs and capabilities.

802.11 Devices

One use of an 802.11 device or wireless device would be Location Services, or Wi-Fi-TRLS (Real

Time Location Tracking). AeroScout makes this device available to hospitals, with the use of access

points in coordination with RFID’s. This system with the Wi-Fi RFID tags and software allow the access

points to act like RFID readers. This makes for a very flexible system that has many uses and

applications. The Wi-Fi system will be able to track any asset, client or nurse throughout a hospital.

There is interoperability with sensors and other “visibility technologies” and will not have any negative

impact or security concerns for other wireless networks throughout the hospital.

This system has a great return on investment and unlike other vendors AeroScout with their Wi-

Fi RFID uses an exclusive beaconing method that does not need a tag reader association in order to

communicate. In Turn this makes for a longer battery life and eliminates strain on the hospital’s Wi-Fi

network, plus this also permits high scalability. This lowers the overall cost for the system and the lower

costs for peripheral devices.

Another 802.11 device would be a wireless router that hospitals utilize. An example of this

would be a Cisco SRP 500 Series Service Ready Platform. It has direct connections to DSL and 3G

services, plus interoperability between DSL equipment from other vendors. The wireless router also has

VPN capabilities that enable highly secure connections with remote sites for employees or doctors. Plus

it also has simplified provisioning and deployment. This is recommended because of the quality of Cisco

routers, throughput, performance and the warranty.

IR Devices

One interesting use for an Infra Red (IR) device in use for a hospital would be an Infra Red

Camera that uses FLIR (Forward Looking Infra Red) technology. They are used to survey ventilation and

cooling systems for hospitals. This would provide vital information about the systems and allow for

adjustments to increase comfort and reduce energy costs. Continuous and error-free running electrical

installations are an absolute where if a fuse blows it can cost lives. Hospital electricians can use the infra

red cameras for inspections.

Other IR devices can be used in operating rooms or patient rooms. This can be patient sensors

or medical devices. This is useful because IR communicates at short distances and the signals of the

devices cannot penetrate walls. These devices would not interrupt with other devices in the hospital or

other rooms nearby. IR devices work on low power but may also support lower data rates, from 115KB

up to 4 Mbps. These devices, for example, a doctor’s clipboard can be used to interact with a patient’s

machine while attached to a computer, or PDA and would record patient information directly through

IR, which makes these devices a viable mobile choice.

Reference.

Aero-scout wi-fi rfid. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.aeroscout.com/content/wi-fi-rfid