Description
The SensaGest Nurse Call System is a radio based paging system designed for people with limited mobility. A bedside control unit is connected to a patented sense pad which provides an ingenious method of detecting user input from people unable to use conventional keypads and buttons. The user is able to generate actions through simple gestures on the sense pad, triggering the sending of messages to the remote pager and to provide infra red control of equipment such as televisions.
IBEX provided the complete electronic hardware design and the basic embedded software design.
Specifications
Design two PCB (printed circuit board) modules to fit within the existing enclosure design.
Select an OLED screen to fit within the tight space constraints and to provide ultra low power operation of the pager.
Select a suitable radio module to provide the half duplex radio communications between a pager and one or more bedside control units.
Design a Lithium-ion battery solution for the pager to provide long operating life. Design electronic circuitry so that all components are usually switched to an ultra low power ‘sleep’ state, briefly powering up every few seconds to check for any new events via the radio link. This approach provides a massive increase in battery life between charges, allowing a smaller more lightweight battery to be used in the sleek pager design.
Incorporate a solid state audio message playback solution in the bedside control unit to provide audio confirmation to user actions.
Provide an infra red learning input and transmit output for use with domestic frequency infra red control signals.
Provide embedded software control of all functionality to be used as a template for the SensaGest programmers to then expand to provide the full operating functionality. Provide a graphic display driver, allowing both text and monochrome graphics to be displayed on the pager screen.
Design using low cost embedded technology for low production costs.
Supply a prototype of each PCB followed by a small quantity of production PCB’s for product demonstration and clinical trials.
Provide full manufacture, test and technical documentation.
