Development of Augmented Reality App to
demonstrate spatial sensor data in a hospital
environment

Hillrom is a leading worldwide manufacturer and provider of hospital
beds. Hillrom wanted to investigate novel visualisation methods for
spatially-dependent hospital bed data. They were particularly interested in
using augmented reality to view spatial pressure and moisture data from
mattress sensors.

Our client asked:

Hillrom asked Sagentia Innovation to develop an augmented reality app
to help them to demonstrate how spatial sensor data from hospital bed
mattresses could be used for quickly and easily monitoring patients. Their
aim was to demonstrate how novel visualisation techniques can be used
to make sense of complex data sets in a clinical environment.

The project story:

Sagentia Innovation developed an augmented reality application to run on
an iPad that demonstrated how this technology could work. By presenting
the information in an app, it would enable nurses to quickly and easily
check patients for signs of medical issues such as pressure sores.

We used image processing to detect specific bed images, overcoming the
technical challenges of superimposing 2D contour map data on a threedimensional
patient and of maintaining the link between that 2D map and
the patient regardless of the viewing perspective.

We also designed an interface to view the Braden Scale for bed sore risk
and used the Unity-generate 3D model to display pressure data on a
patient model.

Results: deliverables and outcomes

Hillrom is now taking the app to Voice of the Customer trials with
healthcare professionals.