The Patient Room 2020 network is powered by a Pakedge K60K router which is specifically designed to accommodate the demands that AV applications place on networks and has options like Power over Ethernet and Power over Ethernet+ capable switches to support those wireless access points, sensors and touchpanels.
“As a network provider Pakedge makes the configuration of their hardware very easy, which is something that we on the AV side of things are very concerned about,” Cannella says. “We wanted it to be easy to use, and it’s also incredibly scalable.”
Plans are in place for Synapse to upgrade elements of the Pakedge system to Layer 2+ switches, SX-24P and soon-to-be released WX-1 wireless access points, which offer three simultaneous radio streams making it ideal for high-density environments like Patient Room 2020.
Another reason the network supporting Patient Room 2020 had to be extremely robust is because of the fact that it’s a prototype. “We designed it to be as big as it could be one day. We were imagining what kind of network infrastructure a multi-floor hospital would need.”
Recalling his Spotify issue when he was in the hospital, Cannella realized that the IT guy had good reason for deprioritizing his entertainment since hospitals send mission-critical information over their networks. Pakedge has a Network Bonding feature that allows select applications such as information and media (e.g. Spotify) to be shared between Pakedge zones without compromising the benefits of traffic separation.
That feature captures the essence of a mission critical hospital room network scenario. The overwhelming priority is to provide network support that allows live-saving technology to operate reliably and uncompromised, butthe secondary priority is to provide increasingly tech-savvy patients with access to whatever they need.
“It was important that the very important part of the network be kept at the highest speed necessary and the less important parts can be slowed down, so it basically categorizes the data and you can tell the network what’s important,” Cannella says.
What’s important is a moving target for the hospital room of the future since health care and communication technologies are evolving rapidly. That’s why although Patient Room 2020 is a prototype providing the right network support to handle whatever comes its way was handled as a matter of life or death.
Photos: Inside Patient Room 2020
