Team Name
Heals On Wheels
Timeline
Fall 2024 – Spring 2025
Students
- Dyana Rahhal – Computer Science
- Rency Kansagra – Computer Science
- Nicholas Doerfler – Software Engineering
- Christian Brown – Software Engineering
- Tristan Moses – Software Engineering
Sponsor
Cook’s Children Medical Center
Abstract
HMETV is an autonomous medical supply cart designed to improve hospital efficiency by transporting medical supplies, samples, and medicine within hospital environments. It alleviates the workload on nurses, reducing physical strain and allowing them to focus on patient care. Users of the HMETV will be able to schedule deliveries and order supplies through a GUI integrated into the hospital’s Wi-Fi network.
Background
Hospitals are fast-paced environments where time, accuracy, and efficiency are essential. Medical staff must follow strict schedules, maintain sterile conditions, and provide high-quality care, all while managing numerous routine tasks. These ongoing demands often result in increased stress, fatigue, and reduced attention to critical responsibilities.
One recurring but time-consuming task in hospital units, such as the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, involves retrieving and delivering essential medical supplies. Items like gauze, syringes, and saline are stored in central supply rooms that are often located far from patient care areas. Nurses frequently have to leave their assigned patients to collect these supplies, which can reduce their availability for urgent care needs.
To address this issue, our team is developing the Hospital Medical Equipment Transport Vehicle, an autonomous medical cart that assists staff by handling supply deliveries. This project builds upon previous work aimed at improving hospital workflows and reducing the burden placed on nurses.
The goal is to enhance efficiency, support timely access to necessary items during emergencies, and allow healthcare workers to focus more on direct patient care. By automating these logistical tasks, the project seeks to improve overall operations and help create a more supportive and responsive hospital environment.
Project Requirements
- Automated Supply Delivery: The vehicle must autonomously navigate to the supply room, collect requested medical supplies (e.g., syringes, gauze, saline), and deliver them to the designated location.
- Emergency Response: In emergency situations, the vehicle must prioritize the delivery of urgent medical supplies to designated areas quickly.
- Route Selection and Navigation: The vehicle must be capable of receiving and following navigation instructions via a central control system or mobile application, utilizing predefined waypoints. It must also adapt to real-time changes in its environment.
- Mobile App Integration: A mobile application must be developed for hospital staff to request deliveries, track the vehicle’s location, and modify tasks remotely.
- Lightweight Body Cart with Spacious Storage: The vehicle should be designed with a lightweight body to ensure easy mobility while providing ample space to securely transport a variety of medical equipment and supplies.
- Removable Basket: The vehicle should be equipped with a detachable basket, allowing for efficient loading and unloading of medical supplies. This feature enhances flexibility when transporting items to different locations within the hospital.
- Emergency Button: The vehicle must include an easily accessible emergency button that halts all operations when pressed, ensuring rapid intervention in critical situations.
- Full-Range Mobility: The vehicle should employ omnidirectional wheels, allowing it to move seamlessly in any direction, including lateral and diagonal movements, to navigate tight hospital spaces efficiently.
- Obstacle Avoidance: The vehicle must have obstacle detection and avoidance capabilities to autonomously navigate around people, equipment, and other potential obstructions.
- Secure Communication Protocols: Communication involving the HMETV must use secure protocols to protect data from interception and ensure integrity.
Design Constraints
The Hospital Medical Equipment Transport Vehicle (HMETV) project is guided by a number of
important design constraints that influence its development, implementation, and testing. These
constraints reflect real-world limitations related to scheduling, budget, regulatory compliance,
and external support.
- Schedule: The final prototype must be completed and demonstrated by April 25th, 2025.
This fixed deadline limits the time available for development, testing, and iteration,
requiring efficient planning and task delegation. - Cost and Economic Constraints: The total project cost must remain within the budget
allocated by the Department of Computer Science and Engineering and the sponsoring
organization. Financial limitations affect component selection, prototyping options, and
testing resources. - Accessibility and Constructability: Access to the installation and testing environment at
Cook Children’s is limited to scheduled appointments during regular business hours.
This restricted access impacts the team’s ability to conduct frequent, hands-on testing
and troubleshooting on-site. - Legal and Data Security Considerations: Any data collected or processed by the system
must comply with Cook Children’s internal security protocols, as well as external
standards such as HIPAA and GDPR. These regulations require careful attention to
privacy, encryption, and user data handling. - Support and Resource Limitations: Cook Children’s and faculty advisors can only
provide limited personnel support and availability throughout the project. This constraint
means the team must work independently much of the time and plan around potential
delays in feedback or guidance. - Sustainability and Continuity: Due to the complexity of the system and the limitations in
time and funding, there is a possibility that the project will not reach full deployment
within the current academic year. In that case, the design and documentation must be
extensible and maintainable to allow future teams to continue the work efficiently.
Engineering Standards
The Heals on Wheels project adheres to several established engineering standards to ensure
safety, security, usability, and compliance with industry and regulatory requirements. These
standards guide the development and implementation of both hardware and software
components of the system.
- Authentication & Encryption/Security Standards: To protect patient health information
and comply with healthcare regulations, the system uses AES-256 encryption for data at
rest and TLS protocols for data in transit. These standards align with HIPAA and NIST
SP 800-52 guidelines to safeguard communication between the mobile app and the
autonomous cart system. - OSHA Compliance: All fabrication and testing procedures within the senior design lab
follow OSHA Lockout/Tagout (LOTO) safety standards (1910.147) to ensure that
equipment is used safely and only by authorized personnel. This minimizes the risk of
electrical or mechanical hazards during development. - National Electric Code (NEC): Electrical wiring and circuitry within the cart must follow
the NFPA 70 National Electric Code, ensuring safe operation and integration of motors,
sensors, and onboard electronics. This standard helps avoid risks of short circuits,
overload, or fire hazards. - Robotic Safety Standards (RIA): If robotic components such as manipulators are
included in the design, they must comply with ANSI/RIA R15.06-2012 and RIA
TR15.606-2016, which cover collaborative and industrial robot safety in operational
healthcare environments. - Programming and Web Development Standards: The mobile application and backend
systems are being developed following modern web development practices. These
include secure coding standards, cross-platform compatibility (e.g., Android and iOS
support), and maintainability best practices to ensure long-term support and extensibility. - Packaging and Environmental Standards: The packaging for the product aligns with ISO
14001 for sustainable environmental practices and ASTM standards for durability. This
ensures both environmental friendliness and adequate protection during shipping. - Battery and Charging Safety: In future components like the charging dock, compliance
with IEC 62133-2:2017 and ISO 61508:2010 is required to ensure the safety of
lithium-ion batteries and electrical safety-critical systems.
System Overview
The Heals on Wheels system is made up of three main components working together to provide a seamless autonomous delivery experience in hospital settings.
- HMETV (The Cart): This is the physical robot that transports medical supplies. It includes the motors, power supply, and safety features like an emergency stop, allowing it to move reliably and safely through hospital corridors.
- Onboard Computing: A Raspberry Pi on the cart processes data from sensors like LIDAR and communicates with an Arduino to control movement. This unit makes real-time decisions based on the environment, enabling the cart to navigate autonomously.
- Offsite Computing: Hospital staff interact with the cart through a simple web or mobile interface. The backend handles scheduling, cart tracking, and communication between the user interface and the cart’s onboard system.
Together, these components create an intelligent system that automates medical supply transport, reduces nurse workload, and improves hospital efficiency.
Results
Future Work
- Physical emergency button on cart
- Implement mobile application for easier remote scheduling
- Implement LIDAR-based obstacle avoidance
Project Files
Project Charter
System Requirements Specification
Architectural Design Specification
Detailed Design Specification
Poster
References
Ltd, YUJIN ROBOT Co. “Unmanned Hospital Robot Delivery for Medical Supplies or Meals |
YUJIN ROBOT.” Accessed September 30, 2024.
https://yujinrobot.com/en/solutions/healthcare-logistics-automation
Ahtiainen, Hanne Katriina, Miia Marjukka Kallio, Marja Airaksinen, and Anna-Riia Holmström.
“Safety, Time and Cost Evaluation of Automated and Semi-Automated Drug Distribution
Systems in Hospitals: A Systematic Review.” European Journal of Hospital Pharmacy 27, no. 5
(September 1, 2020): 253–62. https://doi.org/10.1136/ejhpharm-2018-001791
“Robotic Couriers at the Jena University Hospital in Germany | Britannica.” Accessed
September 30, 2024.
https://www.britannica.com/video/179553/use-robots-meal-delivery-hospitals-tasks
