Zone-level patient localization to secure care pathways in the emergency department
WiCare is a zone-level patient localization system for the emergency department, based on an additional identity-vigilance wristband. The system relies on passive observation of the Wi-Fi environment (RSSI/BSSID) with recalibration by fixed BLE beacons placed at mandatory passage points. It produces three organizational outputs: the patient's current functional zone, the last known sector, and detection of non-arrival at an expected destination (e.g., an ED → imaging transfer). WiCare is positioned as an organizational tool, not a medical device.
Wi-Fi RSSI/BSSID + fixed BLE recalibration beacons. Zone-level output, no precise coordinates
On-premise server in the hospital datacenter, dedicated VLAN segregated from the HIS, mTLS authentication
Logical separation of identity / location data, encryption at rest, immutable (WORM) audit logs
Non-medical-device qualification; AI Act and RIPH positioning reviewed with the DRCI and the DPO
Primary: Secure patient pathways in the ED by detecting loss-of-sight events and non-arrivals during internal transfers early.
Secondary:
The project follows a "simple first, complex only if justified" principle: a Wi-Fi RSSI + BLE baseline, a lightweight and auditable model hosted by the institution, and strictly one-way HIS integration (outbound HL7/FHIR events only, no HIS reads by WiCare). The wristband carries its own identifier, with no patient name or data. The wristband–patient pairing is stored in an encrypted schema with restricted access (identity-vigilance unit and admissions).
A CHEERS 2022-aligned health-economic analysis (probabilistic sensitivity analysis, 50,000 Monte Carlo iterations) was conducted for an ED deployment. The result, reported without overstatement, shows that WiCare is not cash-profitable on its own, but is cost-effective at the French HAS threshold of €50,000/QALY in 99.9% of simulations, with avoided loss-of-sight adverse events as the main value driver.