The Application of E-paper Bedside Cards Integrating Wired and Wireless Technologies: Dynamic Information Updates in Smart Wards

In hospital wards, bedside cards are used to display patients’ personal information, physiological measurements, and care precautions. However, conventional paper-based bedside cards are associated with problems such as delayed updates and susceptibility to damage. To address these problems, the present study employed electronic paper (E-paper) bedside cards. E-paper, which is based on electronic ink (E-ink) technology, has low power consumption, excellent readability, and a reflective display, which make it an ideal solution for presenting information. E-paper can maintain displayed contents without continuous power supply and thus is particularly suitable for hospital wards. This study developed an E-paper bedside card system that integrates wired and wireless technologies to achieve dynamic information updates in hospital wards. Wired data updates are performed using a portable screen connected to a Raspberry Pi 4 device, ensuring stable information transmission. Moreover, wireless updating technology allows medical staff to remotely operate the proposed system through laptops, mobile phones, or computers at nursing stations; thus, this system provides flexibility, avoids the constraints of fixed locations, and enhances operational efficiency. The proposed system can display patients’ personal information, physiological measurements, care precautions, and medical images (e.g., X-ray and ultrasound images). The integration of wired and wireless updating methods in the proposed system can not only improve the efficiency of information updates in hospital wards but also reduce the errors and delays associated with manual updates.