Capstone Project
Reimagining Hospital Bedside Communication Hardware
B.S Capstone
2025 WIN - SPR (20 weeks)
Group Project (4)
My Role
Researcher Lead
Product Designer
Introduction
The HCDE Capstone is a 20-week project where senior students collaborate with real industry sponsors to solve complex design challenges. Teams work through the entire design process—from research to final prototype—while managing client relationships and project constraints.
Our team partnered with Dispatch to redesign hospital bedside technology systems. This experience provided hands-on practice in navigating healthcare regulations, balancing stakeholder needs, and delivering solutions within strict technical and budgetary constraints.
Sponsor
Dispatch provides smart bedside tablets for patient-nurse communication, but faces critical hardware challenges.
Dispatch enhances hospital communication by providing interactive bedside tablets, giving patients additional ways to connect with care teams.
However, their current hardware set up creates major operational issues: nurses waste hours on battery replacements, mounting systems are inaccessible to patients with limited mobility, and power failures disrupt communications. These hardware limitations prevent hospitals from fully leveraging this supplementary communication tool.
Planning
We established project planning through client collaboration and comprehensive research on healthcare technology design.
During the planning phase, we worked closely with Dispatch to understand their business constraints and technical requirements. Our research covered medical device usability, universal design principles, and healthcare regulations. We focused specifically on tablet mounting and power management systems, structuring the project into four milestones to guide our process from initial research through final prototype delivery.
Design Question
How might we redesign the bedside tablet system to reduce maintenance burden while ensuring security and patient accessibility?
Field Study
Direct Observation to Understand Environmental Constraints and Hidden Workarounds
On February 28, 2025, our team visited UW Northwest Hospital with coordination from the Dispatch client team. Due to HIPAA restrictions and patient privacy, we focused on empty patient rooms and nursing stations.
Interview
Capturing Healthcare Workers' Perspectives Through Semi-Structured Interview
We conducted in-depth interviews with nurses, unit secretaries, and managers to understand how hardware issues impact their daily workflows.
Through video sessions lasting 20 to 30 minutes with five healthcare professionals, we explored their experiences with battery management, patient interactions, and system failures. We interviewed non-Dispatch nurses first to establish baseline patterns, then focused on actual users to identify specific pain points. Using thematic analysis on transcripts, we uncovered emotional dimensions of hardware failures and creative workarounds that observations alone couldn't reveal.
Technical Analysis
Dispatch provides smart bedside tablets for patient-nurse communication, but faces critical hardware challenges.
We analyzed system components and conducted performance tests to verify the gap between advertised capabilities and real-world usage.
We also tested the power banks. We documented all hardware components to understand the complete system architecture and cost structure. This analysis examined how the multi-component system (tablet, mount, battery, cable, lock) functioned as an integrated unit.
Data Research
Leveraging Alternative Data Sources Due to Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) Constraints
HIPAA regulations prevented direct patient observation and collection of identifiable behavioral data. To compensate for these access limitations, we utilized Dispatch's aggregated patient request data spanning over 70,000 interactions in 2023 spring to understand usage patterns and patient needs indirectly. This dataset revealed insights about the most frequent patient requests, enabling us to prioritize design features.
Competitive Analysis
Benchmarking Healthcare Tablet Mounting Solutions
Our systematic review covered four companies. Through comparative analysis of mounting mechanisms, power solutions, and security features, we identified critical gaps in the market that our design could address.
Most healthcare tablet solutions rely on cable connections rather than battery systems. Premium solutions ($600-1000+) offer integrated security and professional-grade mounting but exceed budgets.
Research Findings 1
Patients need help most when they are hard to reach the communication device.
While traditional call lights and tablets serve distinct roles in hospital design, patients experience them as a similar communication system. When the tablet becomes challenging to reach during critical moments, patients lose access to what they perceive as their primary way to request help. Our research revealed that the tablet's lack of accessibility creates gaps in care services for vulnerable patients.
Evidence from Field Study
Tablets are rigidly mounted to one side of overbed tables, creating dead zones when tables shift for meals, procedures, or patient movement. The fixed, short-distance position conflicts with the hospital beds environment, which must accommodate diverse patient.
Evidence from Interviews
It's tricky because patients can't move it at all, so when their table moves, they might not reach it or see it
Unit Manager A
Evidence from Usage Data Analysis
+14k
restroom requests
This shows that patients need help with mobility and basic activities. The current fixed and short-range system may be uncomfortable.
+10k
pain requests
The total number of pain-related requests was over 10,000, suggesting that patients are relying on this system in addition to the traditional call-light system at critical moments.
Research Findings 2
Daily battery management waste labor and create gaps in medical services
The current battery system forces staff into endless manual replacements while creating unpredictable communication blackouts. This operational burden diverts resources to maintenance tasks, while system failures create gaps in patients' ability to request help.
Evidence from Field Study
Nursing station charging 35 tablets' batteries nightly, each requiring 6-hour cycles. When this manual system fails, tablets go offline without alerts, leaving patients disconnected during minimal-staffed night shifts.
Evidence from Interviews
I have to change out batteries and cords every shift, and if I'm not here to do it, then those ones will probably just remain offline.
Unit Manager A
The first thing I do is go to all rooms to check... even though I changed it, the next day it's already dark..
Unit Secretary A
Evidence from Technical Analysis
+50%
energy missing
Testing revealed that batteries last only one day, despite specifications of 3-4 days, a 3x performance gap creating an unsustainable maintenance burden.
Research Findings 3
Security Vulnerabilities Undermining System Purpose
The current battery system forces staff into endless manual replacements while creating unpredictable communication blackouts. This operational burden diverts resources to maintenance tasks, while system failures create gaps in patients' ability to request help.
Evidence from Field Study & Technical Analysis
Dipatch's security relies on a basic adhesive cable lock that is specific to the tablet. Since each component does not provide integrated protection, theft prevention depends on employee security rather than design.
Evidence from Interviews
We take tablet out for behavioral patients, people have tried to break them, they've tried to steal them. People often will take the battery and try to plug their own devices into the battery.
Unit Manager A
People often will take the battery and try to take it or plug their own devices into the battery.
Unit Manager B
Patients figure out very quickly that they can charge their devices in it. So they just take them out of the case... and they use them to charge their devices. They go missing because we have a large unhoused population
Unit Manager A
Sponsor Requirements
Balancing Innovation with Real-World Constraints
Beyond addressing user pain points, our solution needed to meet Dispatch's business requirements and hospital operational realities.
Reduce workload
Eliminate or minimize daily battery replacement tasks
Budget Constraints
The sponsor's requirement was that the investment could not exceed $150 per bed.
Security & safety
Enhance the security of not only the tablet but all related components.
Design Ideation
Solution-finding through collaborative brainstorming
Our team began with individual sketching sessions where each team member explored different approaches to key problems after establishing an overall direction. Early concepts ranged from a ceiling-mounted folding system to a bedside railing clip, a wireless charging station, and a modular arm system.
Arm Mount System
Extension arm mounting with table clamp
Tablet case with integrated handles for manipulation
Retractable cable system
Cable organizers integrated along arm structure
Bed Rail Hanging Bucket
Direct bed rail attachment for accessibility
Eliminates battery through wired power solution
Silicon case for durability and disinfection
Client Feedback & Trade-off Analysis
After presenting both concepts to Dispatch, we conducted a systematic trade-off analysis to evaluate each solution. Through this analysis, we decided to go with the wire system and after further discussions decided to go with the arm system.
Final concept
Integrated Articulating Arm Mount System
Our concept sketch shows a secure, articulating arm mount system that replaces unreliable suction cups with a table clamp and multi-joint flexibility. It includes a protected tablet housing and wired power delivery to reduce maintenance and ensure safety. Designed for hospital environments, it enhances patient access while staying within a budget.
Prototyping
Iterative Prototyping
Using 3D modeling, we presented design concepts to clients for clearer communication and faster approval. The prototyping phase emphasized iterative refinement, incorporating feedback from stakeholders after each iteration.
Process
Initial prototyping with paper and 3D printing
Initial prototyping with paper
Quick cardboard mockups helped us test spatial configurations and arm reach distances. This low-fidelity approach allowed rapid iteration on joint positions and mounting angles without material investment.
3D Printing Challenges
Our initial plan to 3D print the entire mounting system revealed significant limitations. The articulating joints required precision beyond our printer's capabilities, and structural components lacked necessary durability for hospital use.
Hybrid Solution
We pivoted to a practical hybrid strategy: purchasing a commercial aluminum arm mount for structural integrity while 3D printing custom components like the tablet case and cable locks. This approach maintained our design intent while ensuring reliability.
Final Product
The Complete Solution
Main Elements
Arm mount with cable organizer
Lightweight aluminum alloy mount with 360° rotation and adjustable positioning for improved accessibility and easy hospital disinfection. Cable organizers help reduce tripping hazards by keeping cables.
Secure Tablet Case
The case is designed with a secure cable joint that connects the tablet to the mount, ensuring stable power and preventing accidental disconnection or theft. It includes a patient-facing handle for easy reach.
Cable Lock
Secures charging cables to prevent theft and tripping hazards, enhancing safety in hospital environments.
Features
Anti-theft Lock
The case securely integrates the charging cable, providing continuous power to the tablet. This eliminates the daily burden of battery swaps for nursing staff, ensuring the device is always operational.
Lockable Security Case
A built-in locking mechanism secures the cable and tablet, preventing theft or tampering by patients and visitors. Only authorized nursing staff can access the lock, maintaining equipment security while enabling efficient maintenance.
Cable Organizer
The cable organizer keeps the long power cable neatly managed, preventing it from obstructing patient and staff movement around the bedside.
Cable Lock
The cable is secured to the tablet case on one end, while a cable locker anchors the opposite end. This system design integrates both charging and security into a single cable system. Even if disconnected, the slack length prevents tripping hazards.
Ergonomic Handle Design
The integrated handle enables one-handed adjustment, crucial for patients with limited mobility or those recovering from surgery.
Safety-First Construction
Rounded edges and smooth surfaces prevent patient injuries, particularly for elderly patients or those with cognitive impairments.
Outcome
Successfully reducing workload and costs in hospital
We gathered baseline data through interviews with hospital staff and validated our improvements through controlled prototype testing in simulated environments.
85% Time Saved
Daily maintenance reduced from 105 minutes to 10 minutes.
60% Cost Reduction
Under $80 per unit, well below the $200 budget target.
100% Battery-Free
50% Simpler Cable
Reduced from 2 cables to only 1 cable for patient environment
Showcase
Capstone Showcase
Stakeholder Feedback
Stakeholder Feedback Session
Key Concerns
Infection Control
The woven texture may harbor bacteria and be difficult to disinfect thoroughly.
Arm Mount Tension
Will the joints maintain proper tension over time, or become too loose or too stiff?
Emergency Situation
The arm mount's bulk could obstruct quick access to patients during emergencies.
Postive Feedback
Handle Design
One-handed adjustment greatly improves accessibility for patients with limited mobility.
Cost Efficiency
$80 per unit is highly scalable compared to $600+ commercial alternatives.
Reflection
If time is allowed…
Run a 4-6 week pilot in an actual hospital unit
Build a modular system that works with both battery and cable power
Design a mount that works with different hospital furniture
Modify the system for critical situations
Key Learnings
This project was different from typical digital design work. Managing two clients, hospital staff, and Dispatch meant constantly balancing other priorities. Healthcare regulations affected every design choice in ways I hadn't dealt with before. The biggest challenge was designing physical hardware. This project was nothing like the HCI work I learned in university. We planned and ran the entire process ourselves, from research to final prototype. It taught me a lot about real project management and adapting when things don't go as planned.