Ensuring the health and well-being of patients is the primary objective of any healthcare facility. A successful healthcare operation not only incorporates great medical treatments and professional health-related feedback, but also reliable and efficient communication among all parties that are involved, from patients to physicians and everyone in between.

Having secured and reliable wireless connectivity enables physicians and medical staff to communicate through pagers, tablets, and other smart devices, and to get real-time access to patient information and laboratory results. With the growing use of Electronic Medical Records 

(EMRs), healthcare facilities not only require wireless coverage, but also a high capacity solution capable of transmitting large data volumes, such as high-resolution X-Rays, ultrasounds, and live streaming video conferencing. At the same time, patients require reliable connection for high-quality video chats and voice calls to stay connected with family and friends. 

Not only do hospitals require cellular coverage and capacity, they need public safety coverage as well. New ordinances are being enacted throughout the United States that requires dedicated first responder coverage. During emergency situations, first responders depend on reliable coverage for their two-way radios to carry out time-sensitive tasks to help and protect the public.

Newer building materials are typically the cause of poor penetration of Radio Frequency (RF) including thick concrete walls, low-emission glass windows, and steel-reinforced floors. In a hospital environment, the age of buildings, use of lead-lined rooms, and the vast range of fluids, metals and machinery can further degrade signal penetration and increase wireless interference.

Though healthcare facilities have a handful of options for increasing wireless coverage and capacity, such as adding tons of new access points, deploying small cells, or using Wi-Fi handoff, many are looking at digital Distributed Antenna Systems (DAS) to solve their connectivity challenges, mainly due to its ability to provide wireless signals from within the building itself. 

This helps to overcome the challenges of signal degradation when the source of wireless connectivity is located outside of the building, usually from a cellular tower located across town. From working with some of the world’s top healthcare venues, Dali Wireless noticed three common requirements from facilities considering the implementation of DAS: 

1) Support for integrated wireless, including cellular, Wi-Fi, and public safety 

A flexible infrastructure is one that can concurrently support commercial cellular, Wi-Fi, and public safety. By doing so, the facility can work with multiple operators deploying multiple technologies on multiple frequencies. Dali’s digital DAS deployments involved the installation of a single, bi-directional optical transceiver used for transporting both uplink and downlink signals. Using one fiber to transmit and receive signals for all technologies reduces the cost of installation, operation, and maintenance, leading to lower Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) of their wireless infrastructures.

2) Support for multi-operator and multi-frequencies

An integrated system with digital DAS can support multi-operator, multi-frequency and multi-technology environments. When receiving multiple RF signal sources such as from off-air repeaters, bi-directional amplifiers, and base stations, RF combining is required at the headend. With traditional DAS, passive intermodulation (PIM) is introduced at each RF combining step which degrades the quality of the signal within the distribution network. 

With a digital solution, the signal is aggregated in the digital domain without using splitters and combiners; therefore, PIM is not introduced. This enables additional mobile operators and frequency bands to be added to a common distribution network digitally at a later point, with no loss of signal quality. 

Another important aspect in a multi-operator scenario is power allocation. Power allocation among the different mobile operators should be monitored and regulated based on vendor standards to ensure optimal users experience. With an all-digital and software-configurable platform, the settings are done at the network level with a Graphical User Interface (GUI). This streamlines monitoring and power allocation. 

3) Future-proofing current investments

With the ever-evolving wireless ecosystem, newly installed infrastructure can become obsolete quickly if future requirements are not considered. Thinking about present and future requirements avoids the situation where sizable investments no longer satisfies the facilities’ needs and requirements. 

A future-proof solution should be a system where upgrades can happen on a modular basis, obviating the need to rip and replace all or parts of the system. In addition, it should also be digital and software-configurable so that the network can be easily configured or re-configured based on future requirements. With such an architecture, additional mobile operators can be added without changes to the original distribution network.

In addition, a software-configurable digital solution empowers enterprises to easily upgrade to 4G, and eventually 5G, with just a click of a button. This is possible because the digital signal processing is conducted using Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) devices that enable signal processing changes or upgrades by simply uploading a new image into FGPA. Therefore, with an all-digital and software-configurable solution, enterprises only need to make the initial hardware investment and simply expand and upgrade their network through software, and without a major overhaul of any hardware. 

Hospitals frequently face staff and venue growth which requires remodeling or building expansions. A digital solution supports incremental additions or changes without modifications to the existing distribution network. This means hospitals can add additional coverage areas to accommodate expansions with daisy-chained remotes. 

It’s never too early to start planning

Hospitals considering purchasing an in-building wireless system have a lot to consider, from emerging network technologies to the evolution of mobile medical devices and its applications. 

In addition, deploying an in-building wireless system is a multifaceted progression of events that must be tackled in phases. Adequate planning is critical for each phase, from the initial site survey and project design, all the way to implementation and post-deployment maintenance.

As new innovations are introduced, ripping-and-replacing segments or all of an existing infrastructure to make way for replacement technologies is a wasted investment. Hospitals can address this by selecting a solution that is future-proof, scalable and flexible. By taking into consideration the needs of today, and at the same time, planning for future needs of its facilities and operations, healthcare facilities can ensure that any investments made during the lifetime of the hospital will only add value to the venue in terms of wireless reliability, patient satisfaction, and workforce efficiency. 

For an in-depth look at a healthcare deployments of a digital DAS solution, visit: http://daliwireless.com/case-studies/hospital-united-states/.