Long-Term Reliability and Cost Analysis of an Internet of Things (IoT)Based Nurse Calling System in a Hospital Setting

Abstract

Introduction: In healthcare facilities, communication between patients and healthcare personnel is facilitated through nurse call systems, which constitute an indispensable component of hospital infrastructure. However, the high installation and maintenance costs of commercial nurse call systems create a significant financial burden, particularly for public hospitals with budget constraints, negatively affecting sustainability.
Objective: This study aims to develop a low-cost nurse call system based on ınternet of things (IoT) technology and microcontroller architecture as an alternative to high-cost commercial products, to implement the system in a real hospital environment, and to evaluate its performance, reliability, and costs using long-term real-world operational data.
Method: A microcontroller-based hardware architecture was designed using low-cost, Wi-Fi-enabled embedded system components. The system consisted of bedside call buttons and a web-based central monitoring platform, utilizing the existing hospital Wi-Fi infrastructure for data transmission. The embedded software was developed in C/C++. The system was monitored for four years in a 32-bed physical therapy unit; performance metrics, failure records, and maintenance requirements were systematically analyzed. Reliability was assessed through the calculation of mean time between failures (MTBF) and failure rates, and cost analysis was conducted through comparison with commercial system quotations.
Results: During four years of operation, the system maintained 99.98% availability. The MTBF was calculated as 7,008 hours, with an hourly failure rate on the order of 10⁻⁴, and no critical hardware failures were observed. Compared with commercial system quotations, approximately 93% cost savings were achieved, with no additional expenses such as license renewals or central panel failures during the operation period.
Conclusion: The IoT- and microcontroller-based system provides a low-cost, sustainable, and reliable alternative for hospital environments. The technical and economic findings suggest

Keywords

• IoT
• nurse call system
• embedded systems
• reliability assessment
• cost.

Ethical Statement

Ethics approval for this study was obtained from the Afyon Kocatepe Üniversitesi Fen ve Mühendislik Bilimleri Etik Kurulu (Decision No: 2022/13, Meeting No: 09).

Thanks

This study was conducted at Tavşanlı Doç. Dr. Mustafa Kalemli Devlet Hastanesi. We would like to thank the Hospital Administration for their institutional support during the planning and implementation phases of the study.

Hastane Ortamında Nesnelerin İnterneti Tabanlı Hemşire Çağrı Sisteminin Uzun Dönemli Güvenilirlik ve Maliyet Analizi

Abstract

Giriş: Sağlık tesislerinde hasta ile sağlık personeli arasındaki iletişim hemşire çağrı sistemleri aracılığıyla sağlanmakta ve bu sistemler hastane altyapısının vazgeçilmez bir parçasını oluşturmaktadır. Ancak ticari hemşire çağrı sistemlerinin yüksek kurulum ve bakım maliyetleri, özellikle bütçe kısıtları bulunan kamu hastanelerinde önemli bir finansal yük oluşturmakta ve sürdürülebilirliği olumsuz etkilemektedir.
Amaç: Bu çalışmanın amacı, yüksek maliyetli ticari ürünlere alternatif olarak nesnelerin interneti (IoT) teknolojisi ve mikrodenetleyici mimarisi temelinde düşük maliyetli bir hemşire çağrı sistemi geliştirmek, sistemi gerçek hastane ortamında uygulamak ve uzun dönem saha verileriyle performans, güvenilirlik ve maliyetlerini değerlendirmektir.
Yöntem: Düşük maliyetli ve Wi-Fi destekli gömülü sistem bileşenleri seçilerek mikrodenetleyici tabanlı donanım mimarisi oluşturulmuştur. Sistem, her yatağa yerleştirilen çağrı butonları ve web tabanlı merkezi izleme biriminden tasarlanmış; veri iletiminde mevcut hastane Wi-Fi altyapısı kullanılmıştır. Gömülü yazılım C/C++ tabanlı geliştirilmiştir. Sistem, 32 yataklı bir fizik tedavi ünitesinde dört yıl süreyle izlenmiş; performans, arıza kayıtları ve bakım gereksinimleri düzenli olarak analiz edilmiştir. Güvenilirlik analizinde MTBF ve arıza oranları hesaplanmış, maliyet analizi ticari sistem teklifleriyle karşılaştırmalı yapılmıştır.
Bulgular: Dört yıllık kullanım süresince sistem %99,98 operasyonel süreklilik göstermiştir. MTBF 7008 saat, saatlik arıza oranı 10⁻⁴ mertebesinde hesaplanmış ve kritik donanım arızası gözlenmemiştir. Ticari sistem teklifleriyle karşılaştırıldığında yaklaşık %93 maliyet avantajı sağlanmış, işletme süresince ek lisans veya panel arızası gideri oluşmamıştır.
Sonuç: IoT ve mikrodenetleyici temelli geliştirilen sistem, hastane ortamında düşük maliyetli, sürdürülebilir ve güvenilir bir alternatif sunmaktadır. Elde edilen teknik ve ekonomik sonuçlar, daha geniş ölçekli uygulamalarda da önemli katkılar sağlayabileceğini göstermektedir.

Keywords

• IoT
• hemşire çağrı sistemi
• gömülü sistemler
• güvenilirlik değerlendirmesi
• maliyet

Ethical Statement

Bu çalışma için Etik Kurul izni Afyon Kocatepe Üniversitesi Fen ve Mühendislik Bilimleri Etik Kurulu'ndan alınmıştır (Karar No: 2022/13, Toplantı Sayısı:09).

Thanks

Bu çalışma Tavşanlı Doç. Dr. Mustafa Kalemli Devlet Hastanesi’nde yürütülmüştür. Çalışmanın planlanması ve uygulanması sürecinde kurumsal destek sağlayan Hastane Yönetimine teşekkür ederiz.

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