There are three types of nurse call systems at present: wireless, hard-wired, and PoE nurse call systems. The Wireless Nurse Call System, just like its name, is an alert system that does not require a cable for its alerting accessories to work. This has important uses, especially if the facility is old and needs a nurse call system. It is difficult to lay new cables, especially if the facility's services are still available. Wired Nurse call Systems on the other hand, are interconnected to each other using cables such as security or ethernet.
What is the difference between a wireless and a wired nurse call system?
The wireless nurse call system uses locators to communicate between each piece of hardware and locators. As a default to all nurse call systems, each wireless hardware and accessory has its own ID in use. This is to distinguish which hardware is activating. The wireless nurse call system can be deployed easily because no cable is needed. Meanwhile, the wired nurse call system will still need a thorough plan to implement the nurse call system. It is also necessary to allocate an additional budget for cabling.
Maintenance of Wired and Wireless Nurse Call Systems
When it comes to maintenance of them, there is also a difference in how they are maintained. First of all, the Nurse Call System needs an annual audit to maintain the effectiveness of the system, especially when it is used for alerting patients. If we talk about the difference between wireless and wired nurse call systems, here is their difference.
Wired Nurse Call System:
The Wired NC system is more expensive to implement during the staging and installation process because it requires structured cabling. There are two types of wired nurse call systems:
Hardwired:
This is used by pin headers that attach cables to the headers to connect to the call points and the headend of the system. The headers have screws to tighten the cables. There are colour codings of cables for the standard of one's own system, and normally security cables are used here.
Ethernet:
This is the advanced class of wired nurse call systems. It uses Ethernet Category 5 or 6 cables here and has RJ45 plugs at the ends of the Ethernet cables. Since the Ethernet standard is used here, it requires network switches and routers to communicate with hardware such as call points, input devices, and the headend of the nurse call system. This system is more advanced and has more extensive features compared to the hard-wired nurse call system.
Wireless Nurse Call System:
Since its call points are unwired, it needs batteries to run its system. The most commonly used battery is the C2032, which can last up to a year. But it is better to replace its batteries every 6 months. This system requires extra time during the maintenance as the technician requires to removed each call point from the wall to replace its battery.
What is another type of wired alerting system?
Aside from these two wired nurse call systems that we described above, there are also other systems that only use the input module. This hardware only requires activation of its inputs to trigger an alert. It uses push-button switches mounted on the wall. When the push button switch is triggered, its terminals will contact and complete the loop of the circuit, activating a trigger on one of the inputs. It has its own ID per input, so the system knows which wall call switch is activated. This will let the system know on its LED displays which area the alert it came from.
Nurse Call Hardware with PoE:
This type of system is used in modern types of nurse call points where the call points draw power from PoE-enabled switches. The power is being stepped down from 48 volts or 54 volts to a certain level of voltage such as 5V or 3.3V to power the microchips or microcontrollers in these call points.
To Wrap Things Up!
We mentioned here in this article the differences between nurse call systems. Wireless uses batteries, is faster to deploy, but requires more maintenance time. On the other hand, the wired nurse call system needs more time in the installation process because the cable still needs to be laid, and when the facility is old, the installation process takes longer. I hope you liked this blog. Please like and share it with your friends if you liked our topic. Thank you for reading.
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