The same radio frequency identification (RFID) technology that enables commuters to enter the MRT with one swipe of their easycard may soon give medical professionals at Hualien's Yu Li Hospital the ability to track a portion of their 2,500 mentally ill patients.
Yu Li Hospital is working in conjunction with Chunghwa Telecom to develop RFID bracelets that will help detect and locate patients in the event they have a fall, an accident or go missing, said Yu Li's director of medical affairs Hu Tsung-Ming (胡宗明).
In addition to locating patients, the bracelets will come with a sensor that measures each patients' body temperature and beams back the information to the hospital's computer system. They will also contain a panic button for patients to press if they need immediate help, Hu said.
Residents with the ability to control their condition with the help of medication are encouraged to be active within the confines of Yu Li's facilities.
There are no iron bars on the windows of the "living communities" where highly functional residents live. However, Hu said there was still a need to keep tabs on patients for safety's sake.
"We are not trying to track or control the location of patients, but to make sure they are not in danger," he said.
For example, if a patient is detected as being immobile in the bathroom for an extended period of time a staff member may check to make sure he or she is alright, Hu said.
Another benefit the bracelet might bring is to reduce staffing costs for routine actions such as roll calls and taking temperatures, Hu said. The bracelets are waterproof, impact-resistant and issue immediate alerts if residents attempts to remove them.
Only 30 percent of patients have consented to wearing such a bracelet thus far, Hu said.
"It will take some time to convince them to trust the new technology," he said.
Around 100 residents are scheduled to test the new technology in September, according to a hospital release. An update on the progress of the program should be out by the end of the year, Hu said.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) is to launch a new program to encourage international students to stay in Taiwan and explore job opportunities here after graduation, Deputy Minister of Education Yeh Ping-cheng (葉丙成) said on Friday. The government would provide full scholarships for international students to further their studies for two years in Taiwan, so those who want to pursue a master’s degree can consider applying for the program, he said. The fields included are science, technology, engineering, mathematics, semiconductors and finance, Yeh added. The program, called “Intense 2+2,” would also assist international students who completed the two years of further studies in
The brilliant blue waters, thick foliage and bucolic atmosphere on this seemingly idyllic archipelago deep in the Pacific Ocean belie the key role it now plays in a titanic geopolitical struggle. Palau is again on the front line as China, and the US and its allies prepare their forces in an intensifying contest for control over the Asia-Pacific region. The democratic nation of just 17,000 people hosts US-controlled airstrips and soon-to-be-completed radar installations that the US military describes as “critical” to monitoring vast swathes of water and airspace. It is also a key piece of the second island chain, a string of
Taiwan will now have four additional national holidays after the Legislative Yuan passed an amendment today, which also made Labor Day a national holiday for all sectors. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) used their majority in the Legislative Yuan to pass the amendment to the Act on Implementing Memorial Days and State Holidays (紀念日及節日實施辦法), which the parties jointly proposed, in its third and final reading today. The legislature passed the bill to amend the act, which is currently enforced administratively, raising it to the legal level. The new legislation recognizes Confucius’ birthday on Sept. 28, the
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake that struck about 33km off the coast of Hualien City was the "main shock" in a series of quakes in the area, with aftershocks expected over the next three days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Prior to the magnitude 5.9 quake shaking most of Taiwan at 6:53pm yesterday, six other earthquakes stronger than a magnitude of 4, starting with a magnitude 5.5 quake at 6:09pm, occurred in the area. CWA Seismological Center Director Wu Chien-fu (吳健富) confirmed that the quakes were all part of the same series and that the magnitude 5.5 temblor was
RSS