Environmental monitoring is important in several aspects of healthcare facility operations. For example, the temperature and humidity in critical care spaces, like operating rooms and ICUs, must be controlled for patient safety and comfort, and to maximize energy efficiency. Continuous monitoring is also an integral part of the equipment used to store temperature-sensitive materials like vaccines, pharmaceuticals, blood, and tissue samples.
The methods that are used to monitor the temperature in these critical spaces vary from completely manual to highly automated. The industry is trending towards the latter, with many healthcare facilities implementing cloud-based temperature monitoring. In these systems, remote IoT sensors transmit temperature data in real-time to a central hub, where it is monitored, processed, and archived.
In this article, we’ll talk about the benefits of cloud-based systems, how they work, and touch on the Dickson product offerings in this area.
In a healthcare setting, there are several areas where environmental monitoring is critical for patient safety and material handling. Here are a few of the most common examples:
These are some of the many examples where temperature monitoring is critical in hospitals and healthcare settings. Cloud-based temperature monitoring systems represent the best-known method for maximizing efficiency and dependability while minimizing the potential for human error.
Furthermore, these automated systems greatly reduce the unnecessary burden and distraction of manual environmental monitoring from clinical staff, so they are free to focus on more critical tasks.
The methods for temperature monitoring have evolved significantly over the years, generally tracking with advances in microelectronics and wireless communications.
In the earliest approaches, temperature readings were recorded manually from thermometers by onsite staff, at preset intervals (at the start and end of a shift, for example). More advanced temperature sensors can store the minimum and maximum temperatures during the shift in memory. This is a relatively inefficient approach, since it is susceptible to human error, and needlessly distracts clinical staff from more critical tasks.
Further iterations of monitoring equipment included chart recorders, and later USB-based digital data loggers (DDLs). These tools provide longer, more detailed data records, but still require manual downloading of data or changing paper charts. Of the two, DDLs are the less expensive and labor-intensive option.
The current state of the art is a cloud-based system that integrates many IoT sensors into a single network.
In an IoT system, temperature and humidity are measured by remote sensors placed throughout the facility that communicate back to a central hub. The data can then be accessed and processed from anywhere by connecting to the hub, for example by using the DicksonOne software tool. Communication can be wireless, through WiFi or long-range RF, or by a wired ethernet connection, depending on your existing infrastructure.
At the heart of the temperature sensor is a material that has an electrical response to temperature, commonly a thermistor, RTD (resistance temperature detector), or thermocouple. When the temperature changes, these materials generate an electrical signal, either a voltage or a change in electrical resistance. This signal is converted to a temperature (based on the calibration of the sensor), which is then transmitted to the central hub.
Digital data logging, which includes the IoT-based systems that are the focus of this article, has been recognized as the gold standard by the CDC and WHO. In some cases, a digital system for continuous temperature monitoring is mandated by regulation, such as in the storage units used as part of the Vaccines for Children (VFC) program.
Earlier in this article, we listed a few of the advantages of a modern monitoring system. One key feature of this type of monitoring is a continuous, detailed data stream from every sensor. Here are some of the benefits of that type of data tracking:
Dickson has a full line of temperature monitoring hardware and software, making it easy to find a solution that matches your application. Our equipment includes stand-alone USB data loggers appropriate for single-point applications, up through enterprise-level solutions that can be implemented effectively across entire hospital networks.
In the area of cloud-based temperature monitoring, the DicksonOne system integrates a network of IoT sensors with a web- or app-based software tool. In this system, remote sensors upload data in real-time to the cloud, where it can be accessed through a convenient user interface.
The key advantages of this type of monitoring system include:
We’ll talk about a few of these in more detail later in the article.
The DicksonOne system provides all of the advantages of cloud-based temperature monitoring, through an interface that allows users to quickly identify and resolve problems across the monitoring network. Adding new sensors to an existing network is easy, making the system highly scalable.
Cloud-based temperature monitoring is a growing trend in hospital and other healthcare settings, driven by its ability to improve client safety, efficiency, and safeguarding of high-value materials. These systems are made up of distributed IoT sensors linked together using a software package.
We provide a wide range of products to fit your needs, including DicksonOne, a state-of-the-art cloud-based remote monitoring solution with integrated hardware and software.
Questions about implementing a cloud-based monitoring system? Contact the experts at Dickson.