Person support apparatuses with communication channel monitoring
A monitoring system includes one or more units that are adapted monitor the radio frequency conditions of a facility or portion of the facility. The units include a packet sniffer and/or an RF spectrum analyzer. Sniffed packets and spectrum data are recorded and made available for analysis and display, either locally on the units or at one or more remote locations. The locations of the units are also gathered, thereby enabling correlation of the sniffed packets and/or RF spectrum data with locations within the facility. Real time RF conditions can thereby be gathered and used to improve the wireless communications within the facility and/or to ensure the wireless communication infrastructure of the facility is operating satisfactorily. The units may be person support apparatuses, such as beds, chairs, stretchers, cots, or the like.
1. A system comprising:
a server communicatively coupled to a local area network;
a plurality of person support apparatuses, each of the person support apparatuses comprising:
(a) a support surfaced configured to support a patient thereon;
(b) a sensor configured to detect a parameter of the person support apparatus;
(c) a radio frequency (RF) spectrum analyzer configured to gather RF spectrum data for first and second communication channels;
(d) a transceiver configured to wirelessly transmit sensor data from the sensor to the server via an access point of the local area network, the transceiver communicating with the access point over the first communication channel, the transceiver further configured to wirelessly transmit the RF spectrum data for the second communication channel to the server via the access point of the local area network using the first communication channel; and
a user interface communicatively coupled to the server and configured to receive the RF spectrum data from the RF spectrum analyzers.
2. The system of claim 1 wherein each of the person support apparatuses is one of a bed, stretcher, and a chair.
3. The system of claim 1 wherein the RF spectrum data includes a signal strength for both the first and second communication channels.
4. The system of claim 1 wherein at least one of the RF spectrum analyzers is further configured to generate a latency estimate regarding communication between the transceiver onboard the corresponding person support apparatus and the access point.
5. The system of claim 1 wherein the RF spectrum data includes a data rate for the first and second communication channels.
6. The system of claim 1 wherein the RF spectrum data includes a signal-to-noise ratio of wireless signals received at the corresponding person support apparatus.
7. The system of claim 1 wherein the RF spectrum analyzers are configured to detect both a Service Set Identifier (SSID) and a signal strength of a second wireless local area network different from the local area network.
8. The system of claim 1 wherein each of the plurality of person support apparatuses further include a packet sniffer configured to detect packets transmitted over at least one wireless local area network.
9. The system of claim 6 wherein the user interface includes a control configured to send a message to at least one of the person support apparatuses, the message causing the RF spectrum analyzer of the corresponding person support apparatus to perform an RF spectrum analysis and to transmit data from the performed RF spectrum analysis to the user interface.
10. The system of claim 1 wherein the transceiver is further configured to wirelessly transmit the RF spectrum data for the first communication channel to the server via the access point of the local area network using the first communication channel.
11. The system of claim 10 wherein the server is configured to receive location data identifying a location of each of the plurality of person support apparatuses and to display the RF spectrum data for the first and second communication channels for each of the plurality of person support apparatuses.
12. A person support apparatus comprising:
a support surface configured to support a person;
a first wireless transceiver configured to wirelessly communicate with an access point of a local area network over a first communication channel, the first communication channel being selected by the access point;
a second wireless transceiver configured to wirelessly communicate over a set of communication channels with a fixed locator unit mounted to a wall of a healthcare facility; and
an RF spectrum analyzer in communication with the second wireless transceiver, the RF spectrum analyzer configured to analyze a signal strength of the set of communication channels; and
a controller configured to cause the second wireless transceiver to switch to wirelessly communicating with the fixed locator unit over a subset of the set of communication channels based on the analysis of the signal strength of the set of communication channels.
13. The person support apparatus of claim 12 wherein the first communication channel is included within the set of communication channels.
14. The person support apparatus of claim 13 further including a user interface having a display, the user interface in communication with the RF spectrum analyzer and configured to display the signal strengths of the first communication channel and the set of communication channels on the display.
15. The person support apparatus of claim 12 wherein the person support apparatus is one of a bed, stretcher, and a chair.
16. The person support apparatus of claim 12 wherein the controller is further configured to receive location data from the fixed locator unit and transmit both the location data and the signal strength of the set of communication channels to the access point of the local area network via the first wireless transceiver.