Elsi Smart Floor Monitoring Systems – Innovation for Managed Care Systems

Technology in healthcare has made enormous strides in recent years and contributed significantly to making managed healthcare, well, more manageable.

Innovative and integrated methods of monitoring patients in all manner of healthcare facilities have made processes easier on care professionals and patients alike. For instance, technology has contributed significantly to reduced response times as regards patient incidents.

One product that has made a mark in this area is the Elsi® Smart Floor Monitoring System. This system has revolutionized patient care and improved safety in clinics, hospitals, care homes, and even residential homes, hotels, and cruise ships.

We’ve delved deep into the Elsi® Smart Floor Monitoring System to explore how it has contributed to improved healthcare and work environments.

What is an Elsi Smart Floor?

An Elsi Smart Floor is a system of connected hardware, software, and sensors that monitor the movements of patients in a room, and can be programmed to detect any patient incidents.

This intelligent flooring solution has been proven to improve patient safety in care facilities, and has also made care professionals’ work more comfortable.

It works by sensing a patient fall and immediately calling for help from caregivers. This ability is vital, especially for people living with disabilities, mobility issues, and people living with diabetes or heart conditions.

The system is also handy for senior patients, providing reliability and peace of mind for both the patient and care professional.

The Elsi® Smart Floor System does this by using its advanced technology. This technology encompasses:

Spatial Recognition

Elsi® smart floors use artificial intelligence to determine if a patient incident is real or merely a false alarm. It can distinguish between a well person wandering into the room or a pet, and an ill patient who has had a falling incident.

This smart system, known as the eLsa system, is built on a wireless network and is a vital component of this intelligent floor. It can detect, on its own, the difference between a real patient incident and a false alarm, and reports to caregivers the exact situation when triggered.

eLsa also works like a burglar detector and reports on any unauthorized or unusual entries into the patients’ room or home. This system is easy to install and does not need unsightly or complicated wiring during installation.

Entry and Exit Alarms

These integrated alarms notify care professionals in case of any patient incidents or suspected incidents.  They go off when they detect any unusual or unauthorized movement into and from a patient’s room.
As soon as any such movements occur, an alarm alerts care professionals to respond immediately and investigate if the occurrence is innocent or if the patient needs genuine help.

Control data and smart sensors work to provide care professionals with a clear picture of the movements of patients under their care.

Pressure-Sensitive Systems

The Elsi® Smart Floor’s pressure-sensitive system is linked to electronic alarms, which are, in turn, connected to remote designated mobile devices.

As soon as a suspected patient incident occurs, care professionals are notified via alarms delivered to their remote devices. This notification allows them to respond sooner to critical health conditions like cardiac arrests or falling incidents, saving time and allowing the patient to be attended to sooner.

Installing an Elsi® Smart Flooring System

Installing Elsi® Smart Floors is a quick process, and what’s more, the maintenance isn’t at all challenging or costly. Notifications, control data, and alarms can be tailored to fit the needs of the environment and patient by suitably programming the Elsi® User Interface.

This smart floor system can also be programmed to fit in with other patient monitoring systems within the care facility, hotel, or residential home.

Video:  Elsi® Smart Flooring System Installation

How Have Elsi® Smart Floors Benefited Managed Care Facilities?

Elsi® Smart Floors have made five main contributions to managed care facilities and residential homes:

• They have improved the work environment for nurses, doctors, and care professionals, giving them peace of mind, and leaving them free to concentrate on patient care
• They give patients peace of mind; patients know that in case they are incapacitated they will be attended to sooner
• They save time for both patients and care professionals
• They keep costs related to unattended patient and staff incidents down within care environments by utilizing care professional tools for providing proactive care.
• They enhance security in care facilities as alarms notify care staff of unusual or unauthorised movements into and out of patient rooms.

The Bottom Line: Are Elsi® Smart Floor Systems Worth It?

In short, Elsi® Smart Floors are worth it. The investment pays off by saving both individual patients and professional care facilities time and costs.

This smart flooring system also improves the safety of work environments for care professionals such as nurses, doctors, and caregivers, and gives patients the peace of mind they need, assuring them that they will be attended to in no time should an incident occur.

In a case study of a joint City of Helsinki – Aalto University project conducted at Kustaankartano Nursing Home between 2006 and 2010, the benefits of this smart flooring system were clear to see.

Feedback from care professionals was extremely positive as they said it made their work environment safer and more efficient, leaving them to concentrate on patient care.

All stakeholders such as patients relatives, visitors, and security personnel, echoed care professionals’ views, in perceiving facilities with Elsi®  Smart Floors to be more professional and resident oriented, improving patient quality of life.

Costs too were drastically reduced, saving both individuals and commercial care facilities money on their yearly budgets.

At HLS Healthcare, we’re equipped to install this flooring system, be it in a commercial care facility, residential home, or managed care residences.