System and method for processing assistance requests

Abstract

A communication system for a healthcare facility includes first and second software applications embodied in non-transitory computer readable media. The first software application instructs a processor of a mobile electronic device to receive a location identifier from a location beacon, receive an assistance request from a user, and transmit the location identifier and assistance request to a server. The second software application instructs the server to use the location identifier to determine a first location of the mobile electronic device, use the location to select a recipient, forward the assistance request to the recipient, determine a responsiveness state of the recipient, determine response time data indicative of how much time a response to the assistance to the request may take, transmit the response time data to the mobile electronic device, and display the response time data on a display of the mobile electronic device.

Description

PCT / US25 / 47512 23 September 2025 (23.O9.2O25)STR03FP703APCTSYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PROCESSING ASSISTANCE REQUESTSBACKGROUND

[0001] The present disclosure relates to communication systems for healthcare facilities, including healthcare facilities that include one or more patient support apparatuses and one or more mobile electronic devices.SUMMARY

[0002] According to the various aspects described herein, the present disclosure is directed to a communication system that is able to automatically determine information regarding how quickly a caregiver, or other healthcare worker, will respond to a request for assistance from a requesting party, such as, but not limited to, a patient, other healthcare worker, or other person within the healthcare facility. In some versions, the system includes the ability not only to determine how far away the recipient of the request for assistance is from the requesting party, but also the responsiveness status of the recipient. The responsiveness status of the recipient may be based upon whether the recipient sets his or her mobile electronic device set to a “busy” state, a “snooze” state, or a non-responsive state. The responsiveness state may also, or alternatively, be based upon the workload of the recipient, including any assigned tasks that are currently in the work-queue of the recipient. Based on such factors, the communication system may determine an estimated time of arrival of the recipient at the location of the requesting party. The estimated time of arrival may specify a range of times, may be updated periodically, and / or may include indications of the confidence level of the estimated arrival time, wherein the confidence level indications may be updated or static. These and other aspects of the present disclosure will be apparent to a person of ordinary skill light of the following written description and accompanying drawings.

[0003] According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, a communication system for a healthcare facility is provided that includes a first software application embodied in a first non-transitory computer readable medium and adapted to be executed by a processor of a mobile electronic device, and a second software application embodied in a second non-transitory computer readable medium and adapted to be executed by a server. The first software application is adapted, when executed by the processor of the mobile electronic device, to perform the following: receive a location identifier from a location beacon positioned within range of a location beacon; receive an assistance request from a user of the mobile electronic device; and transmit the location identifier and the assistance request to the server,PCT / US25 / 47512 23 September 2025 (23.O9.2O25)STR03FP703APCTThe second software application is adapted, when executed by the server, to perform the following: use the location identifier to determine a first location of the mobile electronic device; use the location of the mobile electronic device to select a recipient of the assistance request; forward the assistance request to the recipient; determine a second location of the recipient; determine a responsiveness state of the recipient; use the responsiveness state to determine response time data, the response time data containing information related to how much time a response to the assistance request may take; and transmit the response time data to the mobile electronic device. The first software application is further configured to display the response time data on a display of the mobile electronic device.

[0004] In other aspects of the present disclosure, the second software application is configured to instruct the server to determine an estimated time of arrival of the recipient at the first location and to include the estimated time of arrival in the response time data.

[0005] In some aspects, the second software application is configured to instruct the server to determine a movement status of the recipient wherein the movement status indicates if the recipient is moving toward the first location or not, and to use the movement status in determining the responsiveness state.

[0006] The second software application, in some aspects, is configured to instruct the server to not include an estimated time of arrival of the recipient in the response time data if the movement status indicates the recipient is not moving toward the first location.

[0007] In some aspects, the second software application is further configured to instruct the server to determine an acknowledgement status of the recipient wherein the acknowledgement status indicates if the recipient has acknowledged the assistance request or not, and to use the acknowledgement status in determining the responsiveness state.

[0008] The second software application, in some aspects, is further configured to instruct the server to not include an estimated time of arrival in the response time data until the acknowledgement status indicates the recipient has acknowledged the assistance request.

[0009] The second software application, in some aspects, is further configured to instruct the server to determine a snooze status of the recipient wherein the snooze status indicates if the recipient has placed the assistance request in a snooze state, and to use the snooze status in determining the responsiveness state.PCT / US25 / 47512 23 September 2025 (23.O9.2O25)STR03FP703APCT

[0010] In some aspects, the second software application is further configured to instruct the server to determine if the recipient acknowledges the assistance request within a threshold time period, to determine a second recipient of the assistance request if the recipient does not acknowledge the assistance request within the threshold time period, to determine a second responsiveness state of the second recipient, and to use the second responsiveness state to determine the response time data.

[0011] In some aspects, the second software application is further configured to instruct the server to send a message to the mobile electronic device indicating that the server is in the process of identifying the recipient.

[0012] In some aspects, the second software application is further configured to instruct the server to send a message to the mobile electronic device indicating that the server is in the process of routing the assistance request.

[0013] The second software application, in some aspects, is further configured to instruct the server to determine an estimated time of arrival of the recipient at the first location, to determine a confidence level of the estimated time of arrival, and to include both the estimated time of arrival and the confidence level in the response time data.

[0014] The second software application, in some aspects, is further configured to instruct the server to determine if a diversion status of the recipient wherein the diversion status indicates if the recipient has been diverted from responding to the assistance request, and to use the diversion status in determining the responsiveness state.

[0015] In some aspects, the second software application is configured to instruct the server to determine the diversion status of the recipient based on whether the server has transmitted a task to the recipient having a higher priority than the assistance request.

[0016] The second software application, in some aspects, is further configured to instruct the server to repetitively determine the responsiveness state of the recipient, to update the response time data, and to transmit updated response time data to the mobile electronic device.

[0017] In some aspects, the user is a patient and the recipient is a caregiver.

[0018] In some aspects, the second software application is configured to forward the assistance request to a cell phone of the recipient.

[0019] In some aspects, the second software application is configured to forward the assistance request to a badge of the recipient.PCT / US25 / 47512 23 September 2025 (23.O9.2O25)STR03FP703APCT

[0020] The second software application, in some aspects, is further configured to instruct the server to determine an estimated time range of arrival of the recipient at the first location, and to include the estimated time range of arrival in the response time data.

[0021] The second software application, in some aspects, is further configured to instruct the server to determine the estimated time of arrival by consulting a map of the healthcare facility to determine an obstruction-free pathway from the second location to the first location, by determining a length of the pathway, and by using an estimated speed of movement of the recipient along the pathway.

[0022] In some aspects, the communication system further includes a patient support apparatus, wherein the patient support apparatus comprises a support surface adapted to support a patient, and wherein the location beacon is positioned onboard the patient support apparatus.

[0023] In some aspects, the communication system further includes a stationary communication unit mounted to a known location within the healthcare facility, and the stationary communication unit includes the location beacon.

[0024] The stationary communication unit, in some aspects, further includes an RF transceiver adapted to communicate directly with a patient support apparatus positioned adjacent to the stationary communication unit.

[0025] In some aspects, the RF transceiver is a Bluetooth transceiver.

[0026] In some aspects, the RF transceiver is an ultra-wideband transceiver.

[0027] The location beacon, in some aspects, includes a first ultra-wideband transceiver adapted to communicate with a second ultra-wideband transceiver onboard the mobile electronic device.

[0028] The second software application, in some aspects, is further configured to instruct the server to determine a do-not-disturb status of the recipient, and to use the do-not-disturb status in determining the responsiveness state.

[0029] In some aspects, the second software application is further configured to instruct the server to determine the do-not-disturb status of the recipient by communicating with a second mobile electronic device carried by the recipient.

[0030] The second software application, in some aspects, is further configured to instruct the server to determine an estimated time of arrival of the recipient at the first location, to update the estimated time of arrival as the recipient moves, and to update the response time data as the recipient moves.PCT / US25 / 47512 23 September 2025 (23.09.2025)STR03FP703APCT

[0031] In some aspects, the second software application is further configured to instruct the server to communicate with a second mobile electronic device associated with the recipient.

[0032] The communication system, in some aspects, is further configured to instruct the server to send navigation instructions to the second mobile electronic device, the navigation instructions including directions for the recipient to navigate from the second location to the first location.

[0033] In some aspects, the second software application is further configured to instruct the server to determine if the assistance request is of a first type or a second type, and to select the recipient based on whether the assistance request is of the first type or the second type.

[0034] In some aspects, the first type of assistance request is for transporting a patient from the first location to another location, and the second type of assistance request is for a healthcare worker to bring an item to the user.

[0035] In some aspects, the communication system further includes a third software application embodied in a third non-transitory computer readable medium and adapted to be executed by a processor of a second mobile electronic device. The third software application is configured to instruct the processor of the second mobile electronic device to receive sensor data from a device positioned within communication range of the second mobile electronic device, and to also use the sensor data to determine the response time data.

[0036] In some aspects, the sensor data is data from a patient support apparatus.

[0037] The sensor data, in some aspects, is from one of a brake sensor onboard the patient support apparatus, a power cable sensor onboard the patient support apparatus, or a motion sensor onboard the patient support apparatus.

[0038] In some aspects, the third software application is further configured to instruct the processor of the second mobile electronic device to display instructions on a display of the second mobile electronic device, wherein the instructions instruct a user of the second mobile electronic device to follow a route to the first location.

[0039] In some aspects, the third software application is further configured to instruct the processor of the second mobile electronic device to present a snooze option to a user of the second mobile electronic device and to send a snooze message to the second software application if the user of the second mobile electronic device activates the snooze option.PCT / US25 / 47512 23 September 2025 (23.O9.2O25)STR03FP703APCT

[0040] Before the various aspects of the disclosure are explained in detail, it is to be understood that the claims are not to be limited to the details of operation or to the details of construction and the arrangement of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The aspects described herein are capable of being practiced or being carried out in alternative ways not expressly disclosed herein. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology used herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. The use of "including" and "comprising" and variations thereof is meant to encompass the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereof as well as additional items and equivalents thereof. Further, enumeration may be used in the following description, but the use of such enumeration should not be construed as limiting the claims to any specific order or number of components. Nor should the use of enumeration be construed as excluding from the scope of the claims any additional steps or components that might be combined with or into the enumerated steps or components.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0041] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a patient support apparatus according to a first aspect of the present disclosure;

[0042] FIG. 2 is a plan view of an illustrative caregiver control panel of the patient support apparatus of FIG. 1;

[0043] FIG. 3 is a plan view of an illustrative patient control panel of the patient support apparatus of FIG. 1;

[0044] FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a communication system of the present disclosure, including the patient support apparatus, a requesting device, a responding device, and a server;

[0045] FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the patient support apparatus, a local area network of a healthcare facility, and several room devices;

[0046] FIG. 6 is a diagram of the patient support apparatus system of FIG. 4 showing more details of some of the data contained in a plurality of servers that may be resident in the healthcare facility;

[0047] FIG. 7 is a flowchart of the steps taken by an assistance request algorithm according to the present disclosure in a situation where a caregiver responds and is not diverted;

[0048] FIG. 8 is a flowchart of the steps taken by the assistance request algorithm in a situation where a caregiver responds and is diverted;PCT / US25 / 47512 23 September 2025 (23.O9.2O25)STR03FP703APCT

[0049] FIG. 9 is a flowchart of the steps taken by the assistance request algorithm in a situation where a caregiver does not respond;

[0050] FIG. 10 is a plan view an illustrative portion of a healthcare facility showing a path between a person requesting assistance and a responding caregiver;

[0051] FIG. 11 is an example of a screen displayable on a device used by a person to request assistance; and

[0052] FIG. 12 is an example of a screen displayable on a device used by a person assigned to respond to the request for assistance.DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DISCLOSURE

[0053] An illustrative patient support apparatus 20 according to one example of the present disclosure is shown in FIG. 1. Although the particular form of patient support apparatus 20 illustrated in FIG. 1 is a bed adapted for use in a hospital or other medical setting, it will be understood that patient support apparatus 20 could, in different versions, be a cot, a stretcher, a recliner, or any other structure capable of supporting a patient in a healthcare environment.

[0054] In general, patient support apparatus 20 includes a base 22 having a plurality of wheels 24, a pair of lifts 26 supported on the base 22, a litter frame 28 supported on the lifts 26, and a support deck 30 supported on the litter frame 28. Patient support apparatus 20 further includes a headboard 32, a footboard 34 and a plurality of siderails 36. Siderails 36 are all shown in a raised position in FIG. 1 but are each individually movable to a lower position in which ingress into, and egress out of, patient support apparatus 20 is not obstructed by the lowered siderails 36.

[0055] Lifts 26 are adapted to raise and lower litter frame 28 with respect to base 22. Lifts 26 may be hydraulic actuators, electric actuators, or any other suitable device for raising and lowering litter frame 28 with respect to base 22. In the illustrated version, lifts 26 are operable independently so that the tilting of litter frame 28 with respect to base 22 can also be adjusted, to place the litter frame 28 in a flat or horizontal orientation, a Trendelenburg orientation, or a reverse Trendelenburg orientation. That is, litter frame 28 includes a head end 38 and a foot end 40, each of whose height can be independently adjusted by the nearest lift 26. Patient support apparatus 20 is designed so that when an occupant lies thereon, his or her head will be positioned adjacent head end 38 and his or her feet will be positioned adjacent foot end 40.PCT / US25 / 47512 23 September 2025 (23.O9.2O25)STR03FP703APCT

[0056] Liter frame 28 provides a structure for supporting support deck 30, the headboard 32, footboard 34, and siderails 36. Support deck 30 provides a support surface for a mattress 42, or other soft cushion, so that a person may lie and / or sit thereon. In some versions, the matress 42 includes one or more inflatable bladders that are controllable via a blower, or other source of pressurized air. In at least one version, the inflation of the bladders of the matress 42 is controllable via electronics built into patient support apparatus 20. In one such versions, matress 42 may take on any of the functions and / or structures of any of the matresses disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. patent 9,468,307 issued October 18, 2016, to inventors Patrick Lafleche et al., the complete disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. Still other types of matresses may be used.

[0057] Support deck 30 is made of a plurality of sections, some of which are pivotable about generally horizontal pivot axes. In the version shown in FIG. 1, support deck 30 includes at least a head section 44, a thigh section 46, and a foot section 48, all of which are positioned underneath matress 42 and which generally form flat surfaces for supporting matress 42. Head section 44, which is also sometimes referred to as a Fowler section, is pivotable about a generally horizontal pivot axis between a generally horizontal orientation (not shown in FIG. 1) and a plurality of raised positions (one of which is shown in FIG. 1). Thigh section 46 and foot section 48 may also be pivotable about generally horizontal pivot axes.

[0058] It will be understood by those skilled in the art that patient support apparatus 20 can be designed with other types of mechanical constructions that are different from what is shown in the atached drawings, such as, but not limited to, the construction described in commonly assigned, U.S. Patent No. 10,130,536 to Roussy et al., entitled PATIENT SUPPORT USABLE WITH BARIATRIC PATIENTS, the complete disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. In another version, the mechanical construction of patient support apparatus 20 may include the same, or nearly the same, structures as the Model 3002 S3 bed manufactured and sold by Stryker Corporation of Kalamazoo, Michigan. This construction is described in greater detail in the Stryker Maintenance Manual for the MedSurg Bed, Model 3002 S3, published in 2010 by Stryker Corporation of Kalamazoo, Michigan, the complete disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. In still another version, the mechanical construction of patient support apparatus 20 may include the same, or nearly the same, structure as the Model 3009 Procuity MedSurg bed manufactured and sold by Stryker Corporation of Kalamazoo, Michigan. This construction isPCT / US25 / 47512 23 September 2025 (23.O9.2O25)STR03FP703APCT described in greater detail in the Stryker Maintenance Manual for the 3009 Procuity MedSurg bed (publication 3009-009-002, Rev. A.0), published in 2020 by Stryker Corporation of Kalamazoo, Michigan.

[0059] It will be understood by those skilled in the art that patient support apparatus 20 can be designed with still other types of mechanical constructions, such as, but not limited to, those described in commonly assigned, U.S. Pat. No. 7,690,59 issued April 6, 2010, to Lemire et al., and entitled HOSPITAL BED; and / or commonly assigned U.S. Pat. publication No. 2007 / 0163045 filed by Becker et al. and entitled PATIENT HANDLING DEVICE INCLUDING LOCAL STATUS INDICATION, ONE-TOUCH FOWLER ANGLE ADJUSTMENT, AND POWER-ON ALARM CONFIGURATION, the complete disclosures of both of which are also hereby incorporated herein by reference. The overall mechanical construction of patient support apparatus 20 may also take on still other forms different from what is disclosed in the aforementioned references provided the patient support apparatus includes one or more of the functions, features, and / or structures discussed in greater detail below.

[0060] Patient support apparatus 20 further includes a plurality of control panels 54 that enable a user of patient support apparatus 20, such as a patient and / or an associated caregiver, to control one or more aspects of patient support apparatus 20. In the version shown in FIG. 1, patient support apparatus 20 includes a footboard control panel 54a, a pair of outer siderail control panels 54b (only one of which is visible), and a pair of inner siderail control panels 54c (only one of which is visible). Footboard control panel 54a and outer siderail control panels 54b are intended to be used by caregivers, or other authorized personnel, while inner siderail control panels 54c are intended to be used by the patient associated with patient support apparatus 20. Each of the control panels 54 includes a plurality of controls 50 (see, e.g. , FIGS. 2-3), although each control panel 54 does not necessarily include the same controls and / or functionality.

[0061] Among other functions, controls 50 of control panel 54a allow a user to control one or more of the following: change a height of support deck 30; raise or lower head section 44; activate and deactivate a brake for wheels 24; arm and disarm an exit detection system 136 and / or an onboard monitoring system 138 (FIG. 5); change various settings on patient support apparatus 20; view the current location of the patient support apparatus 20 as determined by the location detection system discussed herein; and perform other actions. One or both of the inner siderail control panels 54c also include at least one control that enables a patient to call a remotely located nurse (or other caregiver) via a conventional nurse call system. In some versions of patient support apparatus 20, one or both of inner siderail controlPCT / US25 / 47512 23 September 2025 (23.O9.2O25)STR03FP703APCT panels 54c may also include a control adapted to allow a patient to summon help via an assistance system 100 according to the present disclosure. One or both of the inner siderail control panels 54c may also include one or more controls for controlling one or more features of one or more room devices positioned within the same room as the patient support apparatus 20. As will be described in more detail below, such room devices include, but are not necessarily limited to, a television, a reading light, and a room light. With respect to the television, the features that may be controllable by one or more controls 50 on control panel 54c include, but are not limited to, the volume, the channel, the closed-captioning, and / or the power state of the television. With respect to the room and / or night lights, the features that may be controlled by one or more controls 50 on control panel 54c include the on / off state and / or the brightness level of these lights.

[0062] Control panel 54a includes a display 52 (FIG. 2) configured to display a plurality of different screens thereon. Surrounding display 52 are a plurality of navigation controls 50a-f that, when activated, cause the display 52 to display different screens on display 52. More specifically, when a user presses navigation control 50a, control panel 54a displays an exit detection control screen on display 52 that includes one or more icons that, when touched, control an onboard exit detection system 136 (FIG. 4). The exit detection system 136 is adapted to issue an alert when a patient exits from patient support apparatus 20. Exit detection system 136 may include any of the same features and functions as, and / or may be constructed in any of the same manners as, the exit detection system disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. patent application 62 / 889,254 filed August 20, 2019, by inventors Sujay Sukumaran et al. and entitled PERSON SUPPORT APPARATUS WITH ADJUSTABLE EXIT DETECTION ZONES, the complete disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. Other types of exit detection systems may be included within patient support apparatus 20.

[0063] When a user presses navigation control 50b (FIG. 2), control panel 54 displays a monitoring control screen that includes a plurality of control icons that, when touched, control the onboard monitoring system 138 (FIG. 4) built into patient support apparatus 20. The onboard monitoring system 138 alerts the caregiver through a unified indicator, such as a light or a plurality of lights controlled in a unified manner, when any one or more of a plurality of settings on patient support apparatus 20 are in an undesired state, and uses that same unified indicator to indicate when all of the plurality of settings are in their respective desired states. Stated alternatively, monitoring system 138, when armed, monitors a plurality of conditions of patient support apparatus 20 (such as, but not limited to, any one or more of the following: brake status, siderail position, litter frame height, exit detection system 136, A / C cord status,PCT / US25 / 47512 23 September 2025 (23.O9.2O25)STR03FP703APCT nurse call cable status, etc.) and issues an alert if any one of those conditions are in an undesired state. Further details of one type of monitoring system that may be built into patient support apparatus 20 are disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. patent application serial number 62 / 864,638 filed June 21, 2019, by inventors Kurosh Nahavandi et al. and entitled PATIENT SUPPORT APPARATUS WITH CAREGIVER REMINDERS, as well as commonly assigned U.S. patent application serial number 16 / 721 , 133 filed December 19, 2019, by inventors Kurosh Nahavandi et al. and entitled PATIENT SUPPORT APPARATUSES WITH MOTION CUSTOMIZATION, the complete disclosures of both of which are incorporated herein by reference. Other types of monitoring systems may be included within patient support apparatus 20.

[0064] When a user presses navigation control 50c, control panel 54a displays a scale control screen that includes a plurality of control icons that, when touched, control a scale system 144 (FIG. 4) of patient support apparatus 20. Such a scale system 144 may include any of the same features and functions as, and / or may be constructed in any of the same manners as, the scale systems disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. patent application 62 / 889,254 filed August 20, 2019, by inventors Sujay Sukumaran et al. and entitled PERSON SUPPORT APPARATUS WITH ADJUSTABLE EXIT DETECTION ZONES, and U.S. patent application serial number 62 / 885,954 filed August 13, 2019, by inventors Kurosh Nahavandi et al. and entitled PATIENT SUPPORT APPARATUS WITH EQUIPMENT WEIGHT LOG, the complete disclosures of both of which are incorporated herein by reference. The scale system may utilize the same force sensors and / or other components that are utilized by the exit detection system 136, or it may utilize one or more different sensors and / or other components. Other scale systems besides those mentioned above in the ‘254 and ‘954 applications may alternatively be included within patient support apparatus 20.

[0065] When a user presses navigation control 50d, control panel 54 displays a motion control screen that includes a plurality of control icons that, when touched, control the movement of various components of patient support apparatus 20, such as, but not limited to, the height of litter frame 28 and the pivoting of head section 44. In some versions, the motion control screen displayed on display 52 in response to pressing control 50d may be the same as, or similar to, the position control screen 216 disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. patent application serial number 62 / 885,953 filed August 13, 2019, by inventors Kurosh Nahavandi et al. and entitled PATIENT SUPPORT APPARATUS WITHPCT / US25 / 47512 23 September 2025 (23.O9.2O25)STR03FP703APCTTOUCHSCREEN, the complete disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. Other types of motion control screens may be included on patient support apparatus 20.

[0066] When a user presses navigation control 50e, control panel 54a displays a motion lock control screen that includes a plurality of control icons that, when touched, control one or more motion lockout functions of patient support apparatus 20. Such motion lockout functions typically include the ability for a caregiver to use control panel 54a to lock out one or more of the motion controls 50 of the patient control panels 54c such that the patient is not able to use those controls 50 on control panels 54c to control the movement of one or more components of patient support apparatus 20. The motion lockout screen may include any of the features and functions as, and / or may be constructed in any of the same manners as, the motion lockout features, functions, and constructions disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. patent application serial number 16 / 721,133 filed December 19, 2019, by inventors Kurosh Nahavandi etal. and entitled PATIENT SUPPORT APPARATUSES WITH MOTION CUSTOMIZATION, the complete disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. Other types of motion lockouts may be included within patient support apparatus 20.

[0067] When a user presses on navigation control 50f, control panel 54a displays a menu screen that includes a plurality of menu icons that, when touched, bring up one or more additional screens for controlling and / or viewing one or more other aspects of patient support apparatus 20. Such other aspects include, but are not limited to, displaying information about one or more devices that are currently associated with patient support apparatus 20, diagnostic and / or service information for patient support apparatus 20, mattress control and / or status information, configuration settings, location information, and other settings and / or information. One example of such a menu screen is shown in commonly assigned U.S. patent application serial number 62 / 885,953 filed August 13, 2019, by inventors Kurosh Nahavandi et al. and entitled PATIENT SUPPORT APPARATUS WITH TOUCHSCREEN, the complete disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. Other types of menus and / or settings may be included within patient support apparatus 20. In at least one version, utilization of navigation control 50f allows a user to navigate to a screen that enables a user to see which devices, if any, are currently associated with patient support apparatus 20. As will be discussed in greater detail below, patient support apparatus 20 includes an onboard locating system that is adapted to automatically determine the relative position of one or more devices with respect to patient support apparatus 20. Further details of this locating system are provided below.PCT / US25 / 47512 23 September 2025 (23.O9.2O25)STR03FP703APCT

[0068] For all of the navigation controls 50a-f (FIG. 2), screens other than the ones specifically mentioned above may be displayed on display 52 in other versions of patient support apparatus 20 in response to a user pressing these controls. Thus, it will be understood that the specific screens mentioned above are merely representative of the types of screens that are displayable on display 52 in response to a user pressing on one or more of navigation controls 50a-f. It will also be understood that, although navigation controls 50a-f have all been illustrated in the accompanying drawings as dedicated controls that are positioned adjacent display 52, any one or more of these controls 50a-f could alternatively be touchscreen controls that are displayed at one or more locations on display 52. Still further, although controls 50a-f have been shown herein as buttons, it will be understood that any of controls 50a-f could also, or alternatively, be switches, dials, or other types of non-button controls. Additionally, patient support apparatus 20 may be modified to include additional, fewer, and / or different navigation controls from the navigation controls 50a-f shown in FIG. 2.

[0069] FIG. 3 illustrates one example of a patient control panel 54c that may be incorporated into patient support apparatus 20 and positioned at a location on patient support apparatus 20 that is convenient for a patient to access while supported on support deck 30, such as on an interior side of one of the siderails 36. Control panel 54c includes a plurality of controls 50g-t that are intended to be operated by a patient. A nurse call control 50g, when pressed by the patient, sends a signal to a nurse call system requesting that a remotely positioned nurse talk to the patient. A Fowler-up control 50h, when pressed by the patient, causes a motorized actuator onboard patient support apparatus 20 to raise Fowler section 44 upwardly. A Fowler-down control 501, when pressed by the patient, causes the motorized actuator to lower Fowler section 44 downwardly. A gatch-up control 50j, when pressed by the patient, causes another motorized actuator to raise a knee section of support deck 30, while a gatch-down control 50k causes the motorized actuator to lower the knee section of support deck 30. The knee section may refer to the joint that couples thigh section 46 to foot section 48.

[0070] A volume-up control 501, when pressed by the patient, causes patient support apparatus 20 to send a signal to an in-room television instructing it to increase its volume, while a volume down control 50m, when pressed, causes patient support apparatus 20 to send a signal to the television instructing it to decrease its volume. A channel-up control 50n, when pressed by the patient, causes patient support apparatus 20 to send a signal to the television instructing it to increase the channel number,PCT / US25 / 47512 23 September 2025 (23.O9.2O25)STR03FP703APCT while a channel-down control 50o, when pressed, causes patient support apparatus 20 to send a signal to the television instructing it to decrease the channel number.

[0071] A mute control 50p, when pressed, causes patient support apparatus 20 to send a signal to the television instructing it to either mute itself or unmute itself, depending upon whether the television is currently muted or unmuted. In other words, mute control 50p is a toggle control that alternatingly sends mute and unmute commands to the television when it is pressed.

[0072] Power control 50q is a toggle control that, when pressed, sends a signal to the television to either turn on or turn off, depending upon the television’s current power status. Closed-captioning control 50r is another toggle control that, when pressed, sends a signal to the television to either turn on its closed- captioning feature or to turn off its closed captioning feature, depending upon whether the closed- captioning feature is currently on or off.

[0073] Control 50s is a toggle control that, when pressed, sends a signal to a first light to either turn on or turn off, depending upon the current state of that first light. Control 50t is another toggle control that, when pressed, sends a signal to a second light to either turn on or turn off, depending upon the current state of that second light. In some versions, the first light is a reading light and the second light is a room light, both of which are positioned off-board the patient support apparatus 20.

[0074] It will be understood that not only the number of controls 50 on control panel 54c, but also the functions of the controls 50 on control panel 54c, the layout of the controls 50 on control panel 54c, and / or other aspects of control panel 54c may be modified from what is shown in FIG. 3. In some versions, control panel 54c is implemented on a pendant controller that includes a cable that is plugged into a port on patient support apparatus 20. In other versions, one or more of the controls 50 of control panel 54c may be omitted, augmented, and / or split amongst other controls panels and / or locations. Still other manners of implementing control panel 54c are also possible.

[0075] FIG. 4 illustrates several components of the assistance system 100 according to the present disclosure, including patient support apparatus 20, a locator unit 60, a requesting device 120, a responding device 140, and a patient support apparatus server 84. Other components may be added to assistance system 100 and / or one or more of the components shown in FIG. 4 may be omitted from assistance system 100 in different versions. It will be understood that these components are not necessarily a complete or necessary list of components of assistance system 100, nor are the individual sub-components of each of these components a complete or necessary list of components, and thatPCT / US25 / 47512 23 September 2025 (23.O9.2O25)STR03FP703APCT communication system 10 may therefore include additional or fewer components than those depicted in FIG. 4, and that each individual component may also or alternatively include fewer or additional subcomponents beyond what is shown therein.

[0076] In the example shown in FIG. 4, patient support apparatus 20 includes a controller 98, a memory 134, exit detection system 136, a scale system 144, monitoring system 138, a microphone 146, Bluetooth transceiver 128, one or more UWB transceivers 132, display 52 (which may be part of control panel 54a, and / or another control panel 54), network transceiver 96, and a nurse call interface 154. Patient support apparatus 20 may also include a plurality of additional components that are not shown in FIG. 4. In other versions, patient support apparatus 20 may include a different combination of some or all of the components shown in FIG. 4 and / or other components not shown therein. In some versions, patient support apparatus 20 may omit one or more of the components shown in FIG. 4.

[0077] Each of the components of patient support apparatus 20 are in communication with each other in one or more conventional manners, such as, but not limited to, one or more the following: a Controller Area Network (CAN); an l-Squared-C bus; a Local Interconnect Network (LIN) bus, Firewire; RS- 232; RS-485; Universal Serial Bus (USB); Ethernet; a Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI) bus, and / or in other manners.

[0078] Memory 134 includes a unique ID 142 that uniquely identifies patient support apparatus 20 and distinguishes that particular patient support apparatus 20 from other patient support apparatuses 20 that may be positioned in the same healthcare facility. Nurse call interface 154, in some versions of patient support apparatus 20, includes a cable port 130. Cable port 130, when included, is adapted to receive a nurse call cable, such as cable 66, that plugs in at its other end to communication outlet 64, thereby coupling patient support apparatus 20 to nurse call system 70 and room devices 72, 74, 76. When it is desirable for patient support apparatus 20 to be able to communicate with nurse call system 70 and / or room devices 72-76 without using a cable 66, cable port 130 is left unused and controller 98 communicates with communication outlet 64 via wireless communication with a linked locator unit 60 (which, in turn, is plugged into communication outlet 64).

[0079] Patient support apparatus 20 also includes, in at least some versions, a microphone 146 (FIG. 4) that is used to detect the voice of the patient when the patient wants to speak to a remotely positioned nurse. The patient’s voice is converted to audio signals by microphone 146 and controller 98 is adapted to forward these audio signals to an adjacent communications outlet 64 positioned in wall 62PCT / US25 / 47512 23 September 2025 (23.O9.2O25)STR03FP703APCT(FIGS. 5-6). When a cable 66 is coupled between cable port 130 of patient support apparatus 20 and outlet 64, controller 98 forwards these audio signals to outlet 64 via the cable 66. When no such cable 66 extends between patient support apparatus 20 and outlet 64, controller 98 wirelessly forwards these audio signals to the linked locator unit 60 that it is currently associated with (using Bluetooth transceiver 128, or in some versions, one of UWB transceivers 132) and controller 112 of linked locator unit 60 forwards these audio signals to outlet 64. Outlet 64 is in electrical communication with a conventional nurse call system 70 that is adapted to route the audio signals to the correct nurse’s station 78, and / or other location. In some versions, microphone 146 acts as both a microphone and a speaker. In other versions, a separate speaker may be included in order to communicate the voice signals received from the remotely positioned nurse. In some versions, the audio communication between patient support apparatus 20 and communications outlet 64 is carried out in any of the manners, and / or includes any of the structures, disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. patent application serial number 16 / 847,753 filed April 14, 2020, by inventors Alexander Bodurka et al. and entitled PATIENT SUPPORT APPARATUSES WITH NURSE CALL AUDIO MANAGEMENT, the complete disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

[0080] Unlinked locator unit 60a (FIG. 4) includes an ultra-wideband transceiver 126, a Bluetooth transceiver 106, a locator unit controller 112, configuration circuitry 114, and a unit ID 122. Bluetooth transceiver 106 is adapted to communicate with a Bluetooth transceiver 128 onboard patient support apparatus 20 using RF waves in accordance with conventional Bluetooth standards (e.g., IEEE 802.14.1 and / or any of the standards maintained by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) of Kirkland, Washington, USA). In some versions, transceivers 106 and 128 utilize Bluetooth Low Energy communications.

[0081] Ultra-wideband transceiver 126 is adapted to communicate with one or more ultra- wideband transceivers 132 positioned onboard patient support apparatus 20. Transceiver 126 is adapted to determine a distance between itself and patient support apparatus 20. Alternatively, or additionally, transceiver 126 may be adapted to allow one or more of the UWB transceivers 132 onboard patient support apparatus 20 to determine their distance(s) from transceiver 126. In some versions, transceivers 126 and 132 use time of flight (TOF) computations to determine these distances. In other versions, transceivers 126 and 132 may utilize other techniques (e.g., time difference of arrival, two-way ranging, angle of arrival, channel state information, etc.) for determining their distances from each other, either in addition to, or in lieu of, TOF computations. In some versions, transceivers 126, 132 may also determine an angle betweenPCT / US25 / 47512 23 September 2025 (23.O9.2O25)STR03FP703APCT themselves using angular information derived from antenna arrays positions onboard transceivers 126, 132, or by using other techniques. The position and orientation of each transceiver 132 onboard patient support apparatus 20 is known and stored in an onboard memory 134 and used to determine the position and orientation of patient support apparatus 20 with respect to the locator unit(s) 60 with which it is communicating. Such position and orientation information may be determined using conventional trilateration and / or triangulation techniques, or other techniques.

[0082] Locator unit controller 112 is adapted to control the operation of transceivers 106 and 126. Linked locator units 60a may include additional circuitry beyond that shown in FIG. 4, such as, but not limited to, circuitry used to communicate with communication outlet 64 via a cable 66. Such additional circuitry is described in commonly assigned PCT patent application serial number PCT / US2023 / 026440, filed June 28, 2023, by applicant Stryker Corporation, and entitled BADGE AND PATIENT SUPPORT APPARATUS COMMUNICATION SYSTEM, the complete disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. Such additional circuitry may include a configuration circuit, a TV controller, a headwall interface, and, in some cases, a video port and / or I R transceiver, further details of which are disclosed in the aforementioned ‘440 PCT application.

[0083] Each UWB transceiver 132 is positioned at a known location on patient support apparatus 20. This known location information is stored in memory 134 and / or elsewhere, and may be defined with respect to any suitable frame of reference that is common to patient support apparatus 20. The known location information may include the spatial relationship between UWB transceivers 132 and / or any other components of patient support apparatus 20. For example, in some versions, the known location information includes the spatial relationship not only between UWB transceivers 132, but also the spatial relationships between UWB transceivers 132 and one or more of the following: the head end 38 of patient support apparatus 20, the foot end 40 of patient support apparatus 20, the sides of patient support apparatus 20, a reference point defined on patient support apparatus 20, the floor, and / or other components and / or landmarks of patient support apparatus 20. In some versions, this location information is used to determine the orientation of patient support apparatus 20 with respect to one or more walls 62, locator units 60, another patient support apparatus 20, and / or another object or structure within the healthcare facility.

[0084] In some versions, patient support apparatus 20 includes four UWB transceivers 132, each of which are positioned generally adjacent one of the four corners of patient support apparatus 20. In somePCT / US25 / 47512 23 September 2025 (23.O9.2O25)STR03FP703APCT such versions, the four UWB transceiver 132 are attached to, or positioned near, the four corners of litter frame 28. In other versions, the four UWB transceivers 132 are attached to, or positioned near, the four corners of base 22. In some versions, each of the four UWB transceivers 132 are attached to the corners of support deck 30. Still other locations of the UWB transceivers 132, as well as different numbers of the UWB transceiver 132, may be incorporated into patient support apparatus 20. In those versions of patient support apparatus 20 where one or more of the UWB transceivers 132 are coupled to components of patient support apparatus 20 that are movable (e.g. litter frame 28, which can have its height and orientation changed; or support deck 30 that can have its sections, such as head section 44, pivoted), sensors are included within patient support apparatus 20 that communicate the current position of the movable component to controller 98 so that controller 98 is able to determine the current positions of the UWB transceivers 132 and use those positions when determining the current location of locator unit 60 and / or one or more devices 120, 140 relative to patient support apparatus 20.

[0085] As will be discussed in greater detail below, patient support apparatus 20, requesting device 120, and responding device 140 are configured to automatically determine their location, or have patient support apparatus server 84 determine their location, using one or more locator units 60. In some versions, patient support apparatus 20, requesting device 120, and / or responding device 140 use ultra- wideband communication to determine their distance from one or more locator unit 60 whose position is fixed and known within the healthcare facility. In other versions of assistance system 100, patient support apparatus 20, requesting device 120, and / or responding device 140 may use alternative methods for determining their location, such as infrared communication with one or more locator units 60, Bluetooth communication with one or more locator units 60, WiFi sensing communication with one or more locator units 60, WiFi access point triangulation, and / or still other location-sensing techniques.

[0086] Requesting device 120 (FIG. 4) includes a controller 156, a UWB transceiver 158, a unique identifier 160, a display 162, a requestor software application 164, one or more controls 166, and a network transceiver 168. Controller 156 oversees the operation of requesting device 120 and executes requestor software application 164. Controller 156 may also, in some versions of device 120, execute other software applications in addition to requestor software application 164. UWB transceiver 158 is adapted to range with (i.e., determine its distance and / or angle with respect to) either or both of the UWB transceivers 132 and / or 126 onboard patient support apparatus 20 and / or locator unit 60, respectively. Display 162 may be any conventional type of display, such as a touchscreen, or other type of display that isPCT / US25 / 47512 23 September 2025 (23.O9.2O25)STR03FP703APCT capable of displaying information thereon. Controls 166 may include buttons, touchscreen icons, switches, knobs, dials, or the like, which allow a user to control requesting device 120 and to interact with software app 164. Network transceiver 168 is a transceiver adapted to communicate with local area network 80 and may be a conventional WiFi transceiver.

[0087] Responding device 140 (FIG. 4) includes a controller 172, an identifier 174, a display 176, a UWB transceiver 178, a responder software application 180, one or more controls 182, and a network transceiver 184. Controller 171 oversees the operation of responding device 140 and executes responder software application 180. Controller 172 may also, in some versions of device 140, execute other software applications in addition to responder software application 180. UWB transceiver 178 is adapted to range with (i.e., determine its distance and / or angle with respect to) either or both of the UWB transceivers 132 and / or 126 onboard patient support apparatus 20 and / or locator unit 60, respectively. Display 176 may be any conventional type of display, such as a touchscreen, or other type of display that is capable of displaying information thereon. Controls 182 may include buttons, touchscreen icons, switches, knobs, dials, or the like, which allow a user to control responding device 140 and to interact with software app 180. Network transceiver 184 is a transceiver adapted to communicate with local area network 80 and may be a conventional WiFi transceiver.

[0088] Both requesting device 120 and responding device 140 may take on different forms. In some versions, one or more both of them may be conventional smart phones, healthcare facility badges, laptop computers, tablet computers, desktop computers, computers-on-wheels (COWs), or other devices that include the components shown in FIG. 4. It will also be understood that the components of these devices 120 and 140 shown in FIG. 4 are not necessarily a complete or necessary list of components for these devices, and that these device 120, 140 may therefore include additional or fewer components than those depicted in FIG. 4.

[0089] Controllers 98, 112, 156, and 172 may take on a variety of different forms. In the illustrated version, each of these controllers is implemented as a conventional microcontroller. However, these controllers may be modified to use a variety of other types of circuits— either alone or in combination with one or more microcontrollers— such as, but not limited to, any one or more microprocessors, field programmable gate arrays, systems on a chip, volatile or nonvolatile memory, discrete circuitry, and / or other hardware, software, or firmware that is capable of carrying out the functions described herein, as would be known to one of ordinary skill in the art. Such components can be physically configured in anyPCT / US25 / 47512 23 September 2025 (23.O9.2O25)STR03FP703APCT suitable manner, such as by mounting them to one or more circuit boards, or arranging them in other manners, whether combined into a single unit or distributed across multiple units. The instructions followed by controllers 98, 112, 156, and 172 when carrying out the functions described herein, as well as the data necessary for carrying out these functions, are stored in a corresponding memory that is accessible to that particular controller (e.g. memory 134 for controller 98; other memories not shown). In some versions, each controller 98, 112, 156, and 172 may include and / or work with a microcontroller that is integrated into, or associated with, the UWB transceiver(s) onboard that particular device (e.g., UWB transceiver(s) 132 of patient support apparatus 20).

[0090] Controller 98 (FIG. 4) utilizes UWB transceivers 132 to determine the relative position of patient support apparatus 20 with respect to one or more nearby locator units 60 and / or the relative position of one or more devices 120, 140 with respect to patient support apparatus 20. If patient support apparatus 20 is positioned within range of a locator unit 60, its UWB transceivers 132 communicate with the UWB transceiver 126 positioned on that locator unit 60, and the transceivers 132 and 126 exchange signals that enable them to determine the distances between themselves. This distance determination is done for each UWB transceiver 132 positioned onboard patient support apparatus 20 (or for as many as is necessary in order to determine an accurate position of locator unit 60 relative to patient support apparatus 20).

[0091] In some versions, UWB transceivers 126, 132 may also be configured to determine an angular relationships between themselves. The distance (and angle information) in at least some versions is calculated by UWB transceiver 132 and controller 98 of patient support apparatus 20. In other versions, UWB transceiver 126 and controller 112 may calculate the distance (and angle information) and forward the results of this calculation to patient support apparatus 20 (either via UWB transceiver 126 or BT transceiver 106). In either situation, patient support apparatus controller 98 is informed of the distances (and, in some versions, as noted, the angle information) between transceivers 132 and 126. These distances and orientations are then used to calculate a relative position of patient support apparatus 20 to the locator unit 60 in a common frame of reference that may be defined in a fixed relationship to the patient support apparatus 20 or in a fixed relationship to the locator unit 60.

[0092] Controller 112 (FIG. 4) of locator unit 60 utilizes UWB transceiver 126 in a manner similar to the operation of UWB transceivers 132 of patient support apparatus 20. That is, controller 112 uses UWB transceiver 126 to determine the relative position of patient support apparatus 20 with respect to locator unit 60 and / or the relative position of one or more devices 120, 140 with respect to locator unit 60.PCT / US25 / 47512 23 September 2025 (23.O9.2O25)STR03FP703APCTThat is, the UWB transceiver 126 of locator unit 60 ranges with the UWB transceivers of any of the UWB transceivers of any of the devices (patient support apparatus 20, requesting devices 120, responding device 140) that come within UWB range of locator unit 60. If locator unit 60 includes more than one UWB transceiver 126, ranging is performed for each UWB transceiver 126 in order to determine the distance and / or orientation of the patient support apparatus 20, requesting device 120, and / or responding device 140 relative to locator unit 60.

[0093] In some versions, UWB transceivers 126, 132, 158, and 178 are implemented as any of the Trimension™ ultra-wideband modules available from NXP Semiconductors of Austin, Texas. These modules include, but are not limited to, the Trimension™ UWB modules ASMOP1BOON1,ASMOP1 CO0R1 , and / or the ASMOP1 CO0A1 , that utilize any of the following chips: the NXP SR150, SR100T, SR040, NCJ29D5, and / or the OL23DO chips. Modules manufactured and / or marketed by other companies may also be used, including, but not limited to, the Decawave DWM1000, DWM10001C, DWM3000 modules (available from Decawave of Dublin, Ireland); the Nordic TSG5162 SiP module (available from Tsingoal Technology of Beijing, China); and / or the UWB hub, wand, and / or sensors available from Zebra technologies of Lincolnshire, Illinois. Still other types of UWB modules may be used to implement transceivers 126, 132, 158, and 178.

[0094] Although FIGS. 4 and 5 only illustrate a single locator unit 60, it will be understood that a typical healthcare facility will include multiple locator units 60 positioned at different locations throughout the facility, including ones positioned within patient rooms and others positioned outside of patient rooms.Typically, at least one linked locator unit 60 will be positioned in each patient room of the healthcare facility, and if the patient room is intended to be occupied by more than one patient (e.g. it includes multiple bays), then additional linked locator units 60 may be included so that each patient support apparatus 20 will have a linked locator unit 60 positioned adjacent to each bay area in the room. Additional locator units 60, such as unlinked locator units 60a, may also be positioned at other locations through the healthcare facility.

[0095] UWB transceivers 158 and 178 of devices 120 and 140, respectively, operate in a similar manner to the UWB transceivers of patient support apparatus 20 and / or locator unit 60. That is, each UWB transceiver 158, 178 communicates with either or both of the UWB transceivers 132 of patient support apparatus 20 and the UWB transceiver 126 of locator unit 60. Thus, controllers 156 and 172 (and / or controllers 98 and 112) are able to determine the position of devices 120 and 140 with respect to patient support apparatus 20 and / or locator units 60. This location information is communicated to assistance appPCT / US25 / 47512 23 September 2025 (23.O9.2O25)STR03FP703APCT108 executed by patient support apparatus server 84, thereby allowing app 108 to determine the current location of devices 120 and 140 within the healthcare facility. This position information is updated repetitively so that as devices 120 and / or 140 move throughout the healthcare facility, the current location of each of the devices 120, 140 is known to assistance app 108.

[0096] The position information of patient support apparatus 20 is likewise communicated to software app 108 via network transceiver 96. I n order to keep track of which device 120, 140 and which patient support apparatus 20 is located where in the healthcare facility, each requesting device 120 sends its unique ID 160, each responding device 140 sends its unique ID 174, and each patient support apparatus 20 sends its unique ID 142 to software app 108 with its corresponding location information, thereby enabling software app 108 to keep track of the current location of each of these devices within the healthcare facility.

[0097] The location information sent to assistance app 108 may include, in addition to the unique identifier of the device 20, 120, or 140, a distance of the device from a nearby locator unit 60, and / or it may include a simple indication that the device 20, 120, and / or 140 is positioned within a threshold distance of a nearby locator unit 60. The ID 122 of the nearby locator unit 60 is also sent to assistance app 108. In some versions of assistance app 108, a separate software application and / or server is used to determine the location of patient support apparatuses 20 and / or devices 120, 140, in which case assistance app 108 is configured to communicate with the other app or server that determines these locations. In this manner, assistance app 108 is informed of the current locations of each of patient support apparatuses 20 and devices 120, 140

[0098] The location of each locator unit 60 in the healthcare facility is surveyed during the installation of locator units 60, and the unique IDs 122 of each locator unit 60 are also recorded during the installation of locator units 60. This surveying information and corresponding ID information may be stored in patient support apparatus server 84 (and accessible to assistance app 108) and / or onboard the patient support apparatuses 20, thereby enabling a patient support apparatus 20 and / or assistance app 108 to determine the location of a patient support apparatus 20 once its distance is known to a particular locator unit 60.

[0099] Locator unit 60 also includes an electrical cord 150 (FIG. 6) having a plug positioned at a far end that is adapted to be inserted into a conventional electrical outlet 110. Electrical cord 150 enables locator unit 60 to receive power from the mains electrical supply via outlet 110. It will be appreciated that,PCT / US25 / 47512 23 September 2025 (23.O9.2O25)STR03FP703APCT in some versions, locator unit 60 is battery operated and cord 150 may be omitted. In still other versions, locator unit 60 may be both battery operated and include cord 150 so that in the event of a power failure, battery power supplies power to locator unit 60, and / or in the event of a battery failure, electrical power is received through outlet 110.

[0100] In some versions, locator units 60 and / or patient support apparatuses 20 may be constructed to include any or all of the functionality of the wireless headwall units and / or patient support apparatuses disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. patent application serial number 14 / 819,844 filed August 6, 2015, by inventors Krishna Bhimavarapu et al. and entitled PATIENT SUPPORT APPARATUSES WITH WIRELESS HEADWALL COMMUNICATION; in commonly assigned U.S. patent application serial number 63 / 26,937 filed May 19, 2020, by inventors Alexander Bodurka et al. and entitled PATIENT SUPPORT APPARATUSES WITH HEADWALL COMMUNICATION; and / or in commonly assigned U.S. patent application serial number 63 / 245,245 filed September 17, 2021, by inventors Kirby Neihouser et al. and entitled SYSTEM FOR LOCATING PATIENT SUPPORT APPARATUSES, the complete disclosures of all of which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0101] In some versions, locator units 60 and / or patient support apparatuses 20 may also or alternatively be constructed to include any of the features and / or functions of the headwall units 144a and / or patient support apparatuses disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. patent application serial number 63 / 131,508 filed December 29, 2020, by inventors Kirby Neihouser et al. and entitled TOOL FOR CONFIGURING HEADWALL UNITS USED FOR PATIENT SUPPORT APPARATUS COMMUNICATION, the complete disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

[0102] In some versions, locator units 60 and / or patient support apparatuses 20 may also or alternatively be constructed to include any of the features and / or functions of the headwall units 144a and / or patient support apparatuses disclosed in commonly assigned PCT patent application serial number PCT / 2023 / 026440, filed June 28, 2023, by applicant Stryker Corporation and entitled BADGE AND PATIENT SUPPORT APPARATUS COMMUNICATION SYSTEM , the complete disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

[0103] In those versions where assistance app 108 is configured to determine the location of devices (such as patient support apparatuses 20 and / or devices 120, 140) the devices send their relative position information with respect to the nearby locator unit 60, the ID 122 of the nearby locator unit 60, the device’s unique ID (e.g. 142, 160, and / or 174) to app 108. App 108 includes a table of all of the locationsPCT / US25 / 47512 23 September 2025 (23.O9.2O25)STR03FP703APCT of the locator units 60 (which, as noted, is generated via a surveying operation during the installation of locator units 60), and it uses that table to correlate the IDs of the devices and the locator unit IDs 122 it receives with specific locations within the healthcare facility. Thus, if a particular patient support apparatus 20 (with a particular ID 142) sends to app 108 a nearby locator unit ID 122 that corresponds to room 430, app 108 determines that that particular patient support apparatus 20 is currently located in room 430. The same is true for devices 120 and / or 140. That is, if a particular device 120 or 140 sends to app 108 a nearby locator unit ID 122 that corresponds to room 430, app 108 determines that that particular device 120 or 140 is likewise positioned in room 430. In some situations, a patient support apparatus 20, requesting device 120, and / or responding device 140 may communicate with multiple locator units 60 generally at the same time, thereby enabling its position to be triangulated within the healthcare facility. Other manners of determining the location of devices 20, 120, and / or 140 may also be used.

[0104] In some versions, one or more patient support apparatuses 20, requesting devices 120, and / or responding devices 140 are configured to be able to communicate with at least two different types of locator units 60: linked locator units 60 and unlinked locator units 60a. One example of a linked locator unit 60 is shown in FIG. 5. Examples of unlinked locator units 60a are shown in FIG. 10. Other examples of unlinked locator units 60a are shown (and referred to as unlinked locator units 60b) in commonly assigned U.S. patent application serial number 63 / 306,279 filed February 3, 2022, by inventors Madhu Sandeep Thota et al. and entitled COMMUNICATION SYSTEM FOR PATIENT SUPPORT APPARATUSES, the complete disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. Patient support apparatuses 20, requesting devices 120, and / or responding devices 140 may be configured to communicate with the unlinked locator units 60b described in the aforementioned ‘279 application and to perform any one or more of the functions described therein that utilize such unlinked locator units and / or information provided by such unlinked locator units. Unless explicitly stated otherwise, all references herein to “locator units 60” without the term “linked” or “unlinked” in the reference will refer to both linked and unlinked locator units 60.

[0105] Linked locator units 60 are communicatively linked to a conventional communication outlet 64 and are adapted to provide location information to patient support apparatus 20. Linked locator units 60 are also adapted to serve as a communication conduit for routing wireless communications between patient support apparatus 20 and one or more devices and / or systems that are communicatively coupled to communication outlet 64 (e.g., room devices 72, 74, 76, and / or nurse call system 70, FIG. 5). In general,PCT / US25 / 47512 23 September 2025 (23.O9.2O25)STR03FP703APCT linked locator units 60 are typically positioned in patient rooms of the healthcare facility where one or more communication outlets 64 are typically present.

[0106] As shown in FIG. 4, linked locator unit 60 is adapted to be mounted to a wall 62, such as a headwall of a patient room 58 within the healthcare facility. The headwall of a conventional healthcare facility room 58 typically includes a conventional communications outlet 64 physically integrated therein. Communications outlet 64 is adapted to receive a nurse call cable 66 that physically connects at its other end either to patient support apparatus 20 (not shown) or to linked locator unit 60 (shown in FIG. 5). In many healthcare facilities, communication outlet 64 includes a 37-pin connector, although other types of connectors are often found in certain healthcare facilities. As will be discussed in greater detail below, linked locator unit 60 and nurse call cable 66 allow patient support apparatus 20 to communicate with a nurse call system, and one or more room devices positioned within room 58.

[0107] Communication outlet 64 is electrically coupled to one or more cables, wires, or other conductors 68 that electrically couple the communication outlet 64 to a nurse call system 70 and one or more conventional room devices, such as a television 72, a room light 74, and / or a reading light 76. Conductors 68 are typically located behind wall 62 and not visible. In some healthcare facilities, conductors 68 may first couple to a room interface circuit board that includes one or more conductors 68 for electrically coupling the room interface circuit board to room device 72, 74, 76 and / or nurse call system 70. Still other communicative arrangements for coupling communication outlet 64 to nurse call system 70 and / or one or more room devices 72, 74, 76 are possible.

[0108] Nurse call cable 66 (FIG. 5) enables linked locator unit 60 to communicate with nurse call system 70 and / or room devices 72, 74, 76. Because patient support apparatus 20 is able to wirelessly communicate with linked locator unit 60, patient support apparatus 20 is thereby able to communicate with nurse call system 70 and room devices 72, 74, 76. A patient supported on patient support apparatus 20 who activates a nurse call control (e.g. 50g; see FIG. 3) on patient support apparatus 20 causes a signal to be wirelessly sent from patient support apparatus 20 to linked locator unit 60, which in turn conveys the signal via nurse call cable 66 to the nurse call system 70, which forwards the signal to one or more remotely located nurses (e.g. nurses atone or more nurse’s stations 78). If the patient activates one or more room device controls (e.g. controls 50l-t; see FIG. 3), one or more wireless signals are conveyed to linked locator unit 60, which in turn sends appropriate signals via nurse call cable 66 to communicationPCT / US25 / 47512 23 September 2025 (23.O9.2O25)STR03FP703APCT outlet 64 and the room device 72, 74, 76 that change one or more features of these devices (e.g. the volume, channel, on / off state, etc.).

[0109] Linked locator units 60 are adapted to wirelessly receive signals from patient support apparatus 20 and deliver the signals to communications outlet 64 in a manner that matches the way the signals would otherwise be delivered to communications outlet 64 if a conventional nurse call cable 66 were connected directly between patient support apparatus 20 (via a cable port 130; FIG. 4) and communications outlet 64. Linked locator units 60 are also adapted to transmit signals received from communications outlet 64 to patient support apparatus 20 via a BT transceiver 106 and / or a UWB transceiver 126 (FIG. 4). Thus, patient support apparatus 20 and linked locator unit 60 cooperate to send signals to, and receive signals from, communications outlet 64 in a manner that is transparent to communications outlet 64 such that outlet 64 cannot detect whether it is in communication with patient support apparatus 20 via a wired connection or it is in communication with patient support apparatus 20 via a wireless connection between patient support apparatus 20 and linked locator unit 60 (the latter of which is in wired communication with outlet 64). In this manner, a healthcare facility can utilize the wireless communication abilities of one or more patient support apparatuses 20 without having to make any changes to their existing communication outlets 64.

[0110] As noted, in addition to sending signals received from patient support apparatus 20 to communications outlet 64, linked locator units 60 are also adapted to forward signals received from communications outlet 64 to patient support apparatus 20. Linked locator units 60 are therefore adapted to provide bidirectional communication between patient support apparatus 20 and communications outlet 64. This bidirectional communication includes, but is not limited to, communicating command signals from any of controls 50 to corresponding room devices 72, 74, and / or 76 and communicating audio signals between a person supported on patient support apparatus 20 and a caregiver positioned remotely from patient support apparatus 20. The audio signals received by linked locator unit 60 from microphone 146 may be forwarded to communications outlet 64 (for forwarding to nurse call system 70), and the audio signals of a remotely positioned nurse that are received at communications outlet 64 (from nurse call system 70) may be forwarded to a speaker onboard patient support apparatus 20. A separate communication channel (separate from outlet 64), as will be discussed below, may also be used for communicating between a patient and one or more caregivers utilizing assistance app 108 of assistance system 100.PCT / US25 / 47512 23 September 2025 (23.O9.2O25)STR03FP703APCT

[0111] Nurse call cable 66, in some versions, includes a conventional 37 pin connector on each end, one of which is adapted to be inserted into outlet 64 and the other one of which is adapted to be inserted into a linked locator unit 60 (or cable port 130 of patient support apparatus 20 if wired communication is desired). Such 37 pin connections are one of the most common types of connectors found on existing walls of medical facilities for making connections to the nurse call system 70 and room devices 72, 74, and 76. Linked locator unit 60 and nurse call cable 66 are therefore configured to mate with one of the most common type of communication outlets 64 used in medical facilities. Such 37 pin connectors, however, are not the only type of connectors, and it will be understood that linked locator units 60 can utilize different types of connectors that are adapted to electrically couple to different types of nurse call cables 66 and / or different types of communication outlets 64. One example of such an alternative communications outlet 64 and cable 66 is disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. patent application serial number 14 / 819,844 filed August 6, 2015, by inventors Krishna Bhimavarapu etal. and entitled PATIENT SUPPORT APPARATUSES WITH WIRELESS HEADWALL COMMUNICATION, the complete disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. Still other types of communication outlets 64 and corresponding connectors may be utilized.

[0112] As is also shown in FIGS. 4-5, patient support apparatus 20 is further configured to communicate with a local area network 80 of the healthcare facility. In the version shown in FIG. 4, patient support apparatus 20 includes a wireless network transceiver 96 that communicates wirelessly with local area network 80. Network transceiver 96 is, in at least some versions, a WiFi transceiver (e.g. , IEEE 802.11) that wirelessly communicates with one or more conventional wireless access points 82 of local area network 80. In other versions, network transceiver 96 may be a wireless transceiver that uses conventional 5G technology to communicate with network 80, one or more servers hosted thereon, and / or other devices. In some versions, network transceiver 96 may include any of the structures and / or functionality of the communication modules 56 disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. patent 10,500,401 issued to Michael Hayes and entitled NETWORK COMMUNICATION FOR PATIENT SUPPORT APPARATUSES, the complete disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. Still other types of wireless network transceivers may be utilized.

[0113] In some versions, network transceiver 96 is a wired transceiver that is adapted to allow patient support apparatus 20 to communicate with network 80 via a wired connection, such as an Ethernet cable that plugs into an Ethernet port (e.g., an RJ-45 style port, an 8P8C port, etc.) built into patient supportPCT / US25 / 47512 23 September 2025 (23.O9.2O25)STR03FP703APCT apparatus 20. In still other versions, patient support apparatus 20 includes both a wired transceiver 96 for communicating with network 80 via a wired connection and a wireless transceiver 96 for wirelessly communicating with network 80.

[0114] Patient support apparatus 20 is configured to communicate with one or more servers on local area network 80 of the healthcare facility. One such server is a patient support apparatus server 84, which is adapted to execute assistance app 108. Assistance app 108 is adapted, in at least one version, to receive data from the patient support apparatuses 20 positioned within the healthcare facility and distribute this data to caregivers, other servers, and / or other software applications. As will be discussed in greater detail below, assistance app 108 may also be configured to receive data from one or more requesting devices 120 and responding devices 140 that are positioned within the healthcare facility. Such information may be forwarded from the device(s) 120, 140 to patient support apparatus 20, and from patient support apparatus 20 to assistance app 108 via network transceiver 96 and one or more access points 82. Alternatively, or additionally, such information may be forwarded directly from device(s) 120 and / or 140 to access points 82 without passing through a patient support apparatus 20 and / or through a communication outlet 64.

[0115] In some versions, assistance app 108 is configured to communicate at least some of the patient support apparatus data and / or data from devices 120, 140 to a remote server 86 that is positioned geographically remotely from the healthcare facility. Such communication may take place via a conventional network appliance 88, such as, but not limited to, a router and / or a gateway, which is coupled to the Internet 90. The remote server 86, in turn, is also coupled to the Internet 90, and patient support apparatus server 84 is provided with the URL and / or other information necessary to communicate with remote server 86 via the Internet connection between network 80 and server 86.

[0116] In some alternative versions, patient support apparatus 20 may be configured to communicate directly with one or more cloud-based servers, such as remote server 86, without utilizing patient support apparatus server 84. That is, in some versions, patient support apparatuses 20 may be configured to communicate directly with a remote server without relying upon any locally hosted servers (e.g., servers hosted on network 80). Patient support apparatus 20 is provided with the URL and / or other information necessary to communicate with remote server 86 via the Internet connection between network 80 and remote server 86. In some such versions, network appliance 88 is a router configured to support such direct connections. Still other types of direct-to-cloud connections may be utilized with one or more ofPCT / US25 / 47512 23 September 2025 (23.O9.2O25)STR03FP703APCT patient support apparatuses 20. When patient support apparatus 20 is configured to directly communicate with remote server 86, patient support apparatus server 84 and / or assistance app 108 may be omitted and any one or more of the functions of patient support apparatus server 84 and / or assistance app 108 described herein may be performed by remote server 86. That is, in some versions, assistance app 108 may alternatively be implemented, either wholly or partially, on remote server 86.

[0117] As noted, assistance app 108 is configured to determine the location of each patient support apparatus 20 (and / or devices 120, 140), or receive the location of each patient support apparatus 20 (and / or devices 120, 140) from the patient support apparatuses 20 (and / or the devices 120, 140) themselves. In some versions, assistance app 108 determines the room number and / or bay area of each patient support apparatus 20 and / or device 120, 140 that are positioned within a room 58, as well as the location of patient support apparatuses 20 and / or devices 120, 140 that are positioned outside of a room 58, such as those that may be positioned in a hallway, a maintenance area, or some other area. In general, assistance app 108 may be configured to determine the position of any patient support apparatus 20 or devices 120 that is positioned within communication range of one or more locator units 60.

[0118] Assistance app 108 FIGS. 4 & 5) is adapted to communicate with a plurality of other servers, such as a conventional EMR server 92, a conventional badge server 94, a conventional Admission, Discharge, and Transfer (ADT) server 102, and / or a conventional caregiver assignment server 104. EMR server 92 stores individual patient records. Such patient records identify a patient by name and include medical information associated with that patient. Such medical information may include all of the medical information generated from the patient’s current stay in the healthcare facility as well as medical information from previous visits. EMR server 92 stores data such as that shown in table 322 (FIG. 6). Table 322 shows an abbreviated example of several types of medical information entries that are commonly found within a patient’s medical records: a fall risk entry indicating whether the patient is a fall risk, a bed sore risk entry indicating whether the patient is at risk for developing bed sores, and a care plan for a particular patient. EMR server 92 includes far more additional information in the medical records of each patient than what is shown in table 322. It will be understood that the term “EMR server,” as used herein, also includes Electronic Health Records servers, or EHR servers for short, and that the present disclosure does not distinguish between electronic medical records and electronic health records.

[0119] Caregiver assignment server 104 (FIGS. 5-6) includes a caregiver assignment table 324 that matches caregivers to specific rooms and / or bays within the healthcare facility. Caregiver assignmentPCT / US25 / 47512 23 September 2025 (23.09.2025)STR03FP703APCT server 104 stores information regarding shift changes, personnel, and the general assignments of caregivers who are employed by the healthcare facility. Although table 324 only shows two caregivers who are each assigned to different rooms, it will be understood that more than two caregivers will typically be present in a healthcare facility and they may have lessor or greater numbers of room assignments. In some caregiver assignment servers 104, caregivers are assigned to specific patients, rather than to specific rooms, in which case table 324 may correlate caregivers to individual patients rather than rooms. Still further, some conventional nurse call systems may be configured to carry out the functions of caregiver assignment server 104, in which case caregiver assignment server 104 may be replaced by and / or supplemented with a nurse call server. FIG. 6 shows an example of this where caregiver assignment server 104 is coupled by a dotted line to communication outlet 64. In this particular example, caregiver assignment server 104 also functions as a nurse call server that oversees the communications between patients and their caregivers.

[0120] ADT server 102 stores patient information, including the identity of patients and the corresponding rooms 58 and / or bays within rooms to which the patients are assigned. That is, ADT server 102 includes a patient-room assignment table 320 (FIG. 6). The patient-room assignment table 320 correlates rooms, as well as bays within multi-patient rooms, to the names of individual patients within the healthcare facility. The patient’s names are entered into the ADT server 102 by one or more healthcare workers whenever a patient checks into the healthcare facility and the patient is assigned to a particular room within the healthcare facility. If and / or when a patient is transferred to a different room and / or discharged from the healthcare facility, the staff of the healthcare facility update ADT server 102. ADT server 102 therefore maintains an up-to-date table 320 that correlates patient names with their assigned rooms and / or bays. In some conventional electronic medical record systems, the functions of the ADT server 102 may be incorporated into the EMR system, and EMR server 92 may therefore, in some versions, carry out the functions of ADT server 102.

[0121] Badge server 94 (FIGS. 5-6) is configured to manage communications between, and keep track of the location of, badges that are typically worn by patients or healthcare workers, such as caregivers, service technicians, cleaning personnel, transportation assistants, etc. Badge server 94 typically maintains a table 326 (FIG. 6) that correlates badge IDs with individual healthcare workers. Each badge includes a unique ID that distinguishes that badge from other badges . When a healthcare provider arrives at a healthcare facility, he or she typically grabs a badge from a common collection of badges andPCT / US25 / 47512 23 September 2025 (23.O9.2O25)STR03FP703APCT wears it for the duration of his or her work shift (and returns it to the general collection after his / her shift). In conventional badge servers 94, in order for server 94 to know that a particular badge is assigned to a particular healthcare worker, the worker has to manually associate the particular badge they chose to wear that day with their name (or some other worker ID). This manual association may involve scanning the badge on a badge reader in communication with server 94, typing information (such as the badge ID and / or the worker’s ID) into a computer coupled to server 94, entering information into the badge (if it is a badge that allows data entry), performing other actions, and / or a combination of these steps.

[0122] The badges may be badges of the type sold or marketed by Stryker Corporation of Kalamazoo, Michigan, under the names Vocera Badge, Vocera Smartbadge, and / or Vocera Minibadge. Other types of badges may also, or alternatively, be used. Such badges include the ability to transmit voice communications of healthcare workers to other badges and / or other locations within a healthcare facility. Some of the badges may also include text messaging abilities, alarm notifications, and other functions.

[0123] As was noted previously, devices 120 and / or 140 may be, in some versions of assistance system 100, badges. Thus, all references to badges herein may refer to a requesting device 120 and / or a responding device 140.

[0124] In addition to, or in lieu of, the location-determination techniques described previously, badge server may additionally and / or independently monitor the location of badges within a healthcare facility. Typically this location monitoring is performed through the monitoring of the wireless access points 82 throughout the healthcare facility. That is, the badges are often equipped to use WiFi, or other wireless communication protocols, which allow them to communicate with wireless access points 82. By monitoring which access points the badges are currently connected to, using a map of the location of the access points 82 within the facility, and, in some cases, using the signal strengths between the badges and one or more of the access points, the general position of the badges within the healthcare facility can be determined by badge server 94. This location information may then be communicated to assistance app 108, which use this location information to supplement and / or replace the location information derived from the UWB communication with locator units 60.

[0125]

[0126] FIG. 6 illustrates an overview of the assistance system 100 of the present disclosure, including various types of data that may be stored within different servers on a healthcare facility’s computer network 80. As was noted previously, EMR server 92 stores the electronic medical records ofPCT / US25 / 47512 23 September 2025 (23.O9.2O25)STR03FP703APCT individual patients, and this data may include individual care plans for each patient, such as shown in table 322. ADT server 102 stores data indicating the current location within the healthcare facility for each patient, such as is indicated in table 320. Badge server 94 stores badge IDs (e.g., identifiers 160), the healthcare workers associated with those badge IDs, and whether or not the healthcare worker is currently logged into the system (e.g., whether the worker is currently using the system or not), as indicated by table 326. Caregiver assignment server 104 stores the rooms— and / or bays within rooms— of the patients that each caregiver is assigned to care for, as shown in table 324. Patient support apparatus server 84 stores a variety of data, some of which is illustrated in patient support table 330 of FIG. 6.

[0127] It will be understood that EMR server 92, badge server 94, caregiver assignment server 104, and ADT server 102 (FIGS. 4 and 8) may all be conventional and / or commercially available servers. It will also be understood that the architecture and content of local area network 80 will vary from healthcare facility to healthcare facility, and that the examples shown in FIGS. 5-6 are merely two examples of the type of network a healthcare facility may employ. Typically, one or more additional servers will be hosted on network 80 and one or more of them may be adapted to communicate with patient support apparatus server 84 and assistance app 108.

[0128] Turning to FIG. 7, assistance software application 108 is adapted to perform a time estimation algorithm 200 that provides updated estimates of the responsiveness of a recipient to a request for assistance. That is, if a patient or other individual makes a request for assistance using a requesting device 120, software app 108 is adapted to route that request to one or more responding devices 140 associated with appropriate personnel for responding to the particular request, and to provide an estimate of the time it will take for the person associated with the responding device 140 to arrive at the location of the requesting device 120. The estimate of time is, in some versions of software application 108, adapted to take into account not only the physical distance the caregiver has to travel to get to the location of the requesting devices 120, but also the current workload of the responding caregiver, other tasks the responding caregiver may be doing and / or diverted to, and / or the nature of the request.

[0129] As will be discussed in greater detail below, software application is adapted to provide the time estimation generated from algorithm 200 to the requesting device 120 so that the person who made the request is provided with an estimate of how long it will take for their request to be acted upon. In some cases, the time estimate may be a single numerical estimate, while in other cases the time estimate may be a range of time, or a qualitative description of the response time. In addition, a confidence level of the timePCT / US25 / 47512 23 September 2025 (23.O9.2O25)STR03FP703APCT estimate may be generated and sent to the requesting device 120, as well as information about what stage of the response process software app 108 is currently undertaking (e.g., “call being routed,” “caregiver being identified,” “request forwarded to caregiver,” “waiting for caregiver response,” etc.)

[0130] FIGS. 7-9 illustrate different versions of time estimation algorithm 200 that may be implemented by software app 108. The different versions of algorithm 200 correspond to different states of the responding party. Specifically, FIG. 7 illustrates algorithm 200 when a single responding device 140 is contacted and the caregiver associated with that particular device 140 is able and willing to respond to the request sent from requesting device 120. FIG. 8 illustrates algorithm 200 when the caregiver associated with the responding device 140 gets diverted to another task after being assigned to respond to the request made from the requesting device 120. FIG. 9 illustrates algorithm 200 when the caregiver initially assigned to respond to the request is busy or does not respond, and the request is then forwarded to a second and different responding device 140 associated with a different caregiver.

[0131] Turning to algorithm 200 of FIG. 7, a person needing assistance makes a request for assistance using his or her requesting device 120. This may involve, such as when device 120 is a cell phone, opening requestor app 164 on device 120 and manipulating one or more controls 166 of requesting device 120, such as pressing on a button, or touching an icon on a touch screen, or the like. Controller 156 of device 120, when executing requestor app 164, then forwards the request to assistance app 108 using network transceiver 168. That is, the request is sent to server 84 by passing from network transceiver 168 to a nearby access point 82, which then forwards the request onto local area network 80, where it is delivered to patient support apparatus server 84 and assistance app 108. This route of delivery of the request to assistance app 108 is different from the typical nurse call that may be placed by a patient using, for example, nurse call control 50g (FIG. 3). Nurse call control 50g sends a signal from patient support apparatus 20 to outlet 64, and from outlet 64, to nurse call system 70. Assistance system 100 is therefore able to operate independently from the nurse call system to which patient support apparatus 20 may be coupled.

[0132] At step 202 of algorithm 200, either assistance app 108 or requestor software app 164 instructs controller 156 to display a message 204 on display 162 of the requesting device 120. The message acknowledges the request for assistance and may include, for example, the words “calling,” or “call placed,” or the like. Regardless of whether step 202 is carried out by a message sent from assistance app 108 to requesting device 120, or by requesting device 120 carrying it out independently of assistancePCT / US25 / 47512 23 September 2025 (23.O9.2O25)STR03FP703APCT app 108, step 202 is carried out in response to the request being sent from requesting device 120 to assistance app 108.

[0133] FIG. 7 shows the message “send message to patient app” in the arrow connecting step 202 to message 204. It will be understood that the “patient app” referred to in FIGS. 7-9 refers to requestor software app 164, although the requesting app 164 and requesting device 120 are not necessarily always used by patients. It will also be understood that, at least with respect to step 202 and as noted above, the message 204 displayed on display 162 may be initiated by, and sent from, assistance app 108 to requestor software app 164, or it may be initiated by requestor software app 164 itself.

[0134] At step 206, assistance app 108 determines the location of requesting device 120. In some versions, assistance app 108 may be configured to keep track of this location at all times, and the location information of the requesting device 120 is therefore already known. As has been discussed previously, assistance app 108 determines the location of the requesting device 120 based upon, in at least one version, the ranging between UWB transceiver 132 and UWB transceiver 126 of one or more nearby locator units 60. This ranging operation tells the locator unit 60 and / or the requesting device 120 the distance between locator unit 60 and requesting device 120, and this information is forwarded to assistance app 108 by requesting device 120. Alternatively, the position of a patient support apparatus 20 may be determined in a similar manner, and the position of requesting device 120 may piggyback off of this location-determination of patient support apparatus 20 to determine its own location. That is, instead of, or in addition to, ranging with locator unit 60, UWB transceiver 158 of requesting device 120 may range with one or more of the UWB transceivers 132 of patient support apparatus 20 in order to determine its distance from, and / or its relative position with respect to, patient support apparatus 20. From that information, coupled with the known location of patient support apparatus 20, requesting device 120 is able to determine its current location within the healthcare facility. This location information is sent to assistance app 108 either by requesting device 120 itself or by patient support apparatus 20 using network transceivers 168 or 96, respectively.

[0135] The location information received by assistance app 108 is location information that is correlated to the ID 122 of the locator unit 60 which the requesting device 120 is near to (or to the locator unit 60 which the nearby patient support apparatus 20 is positioned next to). In either case, assistance app 108 uses the ID 122 of the specific locator unit 60 to determine where in the healthcare facility the requesting device 120 is currently located. That is, assistance app 108 looks up the location of thePCT / US25 / 47512 23 September 2025 (23.O9.2O25)STR03FP703APCT particular locator unit 60 having the ID 122 that it received from requesting device 120 (or from patient support apparatus 20). This look-up process is performed by consulting the table (e.g. table 330; FIG. 6) containing the surveying results of the locating units 60, along with their unique IDs 122, that was performed during the installation of locator units 60.

[0136] After assistance app 108 determines the location of the requesting device 120 at step 206, it also performs at step 206 a determination of who to forward the request to. That is, assistance app 108 makes a determination of who the recipient of the request will be. This determination of the proper recipient is based upon one or more factors, and in some instances, in configurable by authorized personnel of the healthcare facility. In other words, assistance app 108 is configurable by authorized individuals of the healthcare facility as to the logic followed by assistance app 108 when determining where to forward the assistance requests it receives from one or more requesting devices 120.

[0137] When deciding who the recipient of the assistance request from requesting device 120 will be, assistance app 108 may take into account one or more of the following factors: (1) the content of the request, (2) the location of the requesting device 120, (3) the current location of one or more potential recipients relative to the current location of requesting device 120, (4) the current workloads and / or status of the potential recipients, (5) the time of day, (6) the particular person who is making the request (i.e. the person associated with the requesting device 120), and (7) other factors.

[0138] The first factor— the type of request— may take on any form, and may vary from a simple request by a patient for water or ice to an emergency request for assistance, such as a code blue emergency, which is initiated by a caregiver. Other types of requests include, but are not limited to, requests for transportation assistance, requests for food, requests for therapy, requests for a nurse visit, and / or still other types of requests. The content of the request is included in the request message itself, and assistance app 108 is programmed to use that content, in some versions, when determining the recipient of the request message. In some versions, the content of the request is analyzed by assistance app 108 to assign a priority level to the request, and that priority level is used for determining the recipient of the request.

[0139] The second factor— the location of the requesting device— may be utilized by assistance app 108 in selecting the recipient, particularly if the healthcare facility has assigned certain personnel responsibility for responding to requests for certain areas of the healthcare facility. For example, a transportation assistant may be assigned to a particular wing, section, floor, and / or other area of aPCT / US25 / 47512 23 September 2025 (23.O9.2O25)STR03FP703APCT healthcare facility, in which case this information is programmed into assistance app 108, and it uses this information when determining the recipient of the request message. The location of the requesting device 120 may also be a factor used by assistance app for situations where assistance app 108 has been programmed to assess the distance between the requesting device 120 and the potential recipients when determining the actual recipient. That is, the healthcare facility may determine that, at least for some types of requests, the nearest available recipient should respond to that request. Alternatively, other types of requests may require a recipient who may not be the closest to the requesting device.

[0140] The third factor— the current location of the potential recipients— may be used for situations where the recipient is desirably the closest recipient to the requesting device 120, or is the closest recipient in a set of potential recipients (e.g., the closest caregiver who is not currently busy, the closest nurse who has the least number of patients, etc.)

[0141] The fourth factor— the current workload of the potential recipients— may be determined by assistance app 108 based upon communications with one or more other servers, such as EMR server 92 and / or caregiver assignment server 104. EMR server 92 may contain information about procedures that one or more patients of specific caregivers are undergoing, which is an indication of how busy those specific caregivers currently are. Alternatively, or additionally, EMR server 92 may contain a record of which rounding duties particular caregivers have completed, and assistance app 108 may use that information to determine how many rounding duties each caregiver has yet to complete. Still further, caregiver assignment server 104 may indicate the number of patients assigned to potential recipient caregivers and / or other information about their current workload. Assistance app 108 is adapted to communicate with EMR server 92, caregiver assignment server 104, and / or other servers that provide information about the current workload of the potential recipients of an assistance request and to use that information when deciding to whom to route the assistance request.

[0142] The fifth factor— the time of day— may be used by assistance app 108 when routing calls if the particular healthcare facility has implemented protocols and / or management practices that are influenced by the time of day. For example, in the evening hours, fewer caregivers may be present, in which case assistance app 108 may utilize different rules for finding the appropriate recipient of an assistance request (e.g. considering potential recipients who may be further away from the requesting device 120 than assistance app 108 might consider at other times of the day, weighting the workload factors of the potential recipients differently based on time of day, etc.). The calendar day or day of thePCT / US25 / 47512 23 September 2025 (23.O9.2O25)STR03FP703APCT week may alternatively or additionally be utilized by assistance app 108 when determining the proper recipient of the assistance request.

[0143] The sixth factor— the particular person making the request— may be also used by assistance app 108 when deciding upon the recipient of an assistance request. In many situations, one or more particular caregivers are assigned to care for each patient, and assistance app 108 uses this information to determine the recipient of the assistance request. This information may come from a combination of servers, including caregiver assignment server 104, ADT server 102, and / or EMR server 92. Thus, in some instances, assistance app 108 forwards the assistance request of a patient to the caregiver assigned to that patient, depending upon, in some cases, the other factors considered by assistance app 108. If the requestor is another caregiver, then assistance app 108 may determine that the recipient is a managing caregiver or supervisor of some sort. Still other classifications of people making the assistance request may also be used by assistance app 108 and rules for determining the proper recipient based on those classifications may be used.

[0144] Returning to FIG. 7, after assistance app 108 determines the location of the requesting device 120 and the recipient of the assistance request at step 206, assistance app 108 sends a message to the requesting device 120 instructing it to display a message 208 on display 162. The message 208 provides a status indication to the person who made the assistance request using requesting device. In the particular example shown in FIG. 7, the status message indicates to the requestor that assistance system 100 is gathering information location (“getting location”) and checking who to forward the request to (e.g., “checking for assignment.”) Other types of status information may, or course, be displayed as part of message 208.

[0145] After determining the recipient of the assistance request at step 206, assistance app 108 forward the assistance request to the intended recipient at step 210. That is, assistance app 108 forwards the assistance request to the responder device 140 associated with the chosen recipient. In order to execute this step, assistance app 108 either maintains, or acquires from the appropriate servers of network 80 (e.g., badge server 94) identifying information (e.g., MAC address, IP address, etc.) of the responding device 140 associated with the selected recipient. Thus, for example, if the particular recipient is Nurse A, assistance app 108 may analyze information from badge server 94 indicating which specific badge is associated with Nurse A at that time. Badge server 94 responds with that information and assistance app 108 then uses that information to address the assistance request to Nurse A. Assistance app 108 typically,PCT / US25 / 47512 23 September 2025 (23.O9.2O25)STR03FP703APCT although not necessarily, forwards the assistance request to the responding device 140 (e.g., the badge of Nurse A) using WiFi and access points 82. Thus, responding device 140 receives the assistance request via network transceiver 184 and uses responding software app 180 to respond to the receipt of this assistance request.

[0146] When forwarding the assistance request to the selected recipient at step 210, assistance app 108 may also send a message to the requesting device 120 instructing controller 156 of the requesting device 120 to display another status update message 212 on display 162. In the example shown in FIG. 7, the status update message 212 indicates that the assistance request (“call”) is being routed to the recipient. Other types of messages 212 may also, or alternatively, be used.

[0147] After responding device 140 receives the assistance request at step 210, controller 156 of responding device 140 may be configured to automatically transmit an acknowledgement of the receipt of the assistance request to assistance app 108 at step 214. Alternatively, assistance app 108 may proceed with step 214 without receiving such an automatic acknowledgement. In either situation, assistance app 108 calculates an estimated time of arrival of the person associated with the responding device 140 at the requesting device 120. That is, assistance app 108 calculates an estimate of the amount of time it will take for the person associated with responding device 140 to respond to the person requesting assistance (and associated with requesting device 120), and thereby be in a position to provide assistance to the assistance-requesting person. Assistance app 108 is also configured to determine a confidence level of the estimated time of arrival, in at least some versions of assistance app 108.

[0148] Assistance app 108 calculates the estimated time of arrival of the responding person (associated with responding device 140) by determining the following three components: (1) a travel time for the responding person; (2) a delay time before the responding person will begin traveling toward the requesting person; and (3) an unknown time in which one or more adjustments for unknown or variable quantities are made (e.g. time for taking an elevator, time differences for different routes the responding person may follow, the unpredictability of the delay time, etc.). When computing the first component, assistance app 108 determines the route the responding person will take to walk to the requesting person (associated with requesting device 120), calculates the length of that route, using an assumed speed of movement (e.g., walking) of the responding person, and divides the length of that route by the assumed speed of movement of the responding person. The determination of the route takes into account not only the absolute distance between the requesting device 120 and the responding device 140, but also thePCT / US25 / 47512 23 September 2025 (23.O9.2O25)STR03FP703APCT floorplan of the healthcare facility. That is, assistance app 108 has access to, or is supplied with, data defining the location of walls, doors, hallways, elevators, and other features defining the layout of the healthcare facility. Assistance app 108 uses these features of the floorplan when determining the distance the responding person will have to travel to get to the requesting device 120. Consequently, if the responding person has to, for example, temporarily walk further away from the requesting device because of the locations of the walls and doorways in the healthcare facility, assistance app 108 computes the “extra” distance this route will involve.

[0149] When calculating the distance the responding person will travel to get to the requesting device 120, assistance app 108 may break the path of travel of the responding person into segments, where each segment may correspond to a straight, or other section, of the total path to the requesting device 120. The distances of all of these segments may then be summed to determine a total distance. Once this total distance is determined, assistance app 108 divides the total distance by the assumed speed of the responding person. In some versions, the assumed speed of the responding person may be a variable that is configurable by authorized individuals of the healthcare facility. In some versions, assistance app 108 may use different assumed speeds for different responding persons, and these different speeds may be configurable by appropriate personnel at the healthcare facility. In still other versions, assistance app 108 may keep track of the movement speeds of each responding party (based on the detected movement of the responding device 140) and compute an average speed for either all responding persons, or an average speed for each individual responding person. In either case, assistance app 108 may utilize this average speed when computing the estimated time of arrival at step 214.

[0150] The “delay time” provides an indication of the level of responsiveness of the user of the responding device 140 to the request for assistance. When computing the “delay time” it may take for the responding person to start moving toward the requesting person, assistance app 108 may utilize information regarding the work level of the responding person. Assistance app 108 may also utilize information it receives from responding device 140 indicating how busy the responding person is. That is, assistance app 108 may calculate the delay time based upon any of the information discussed above regarding the current workload and / or status of potential recipient. Assistance app 108 may also utilize the lack of information it receives from responding device 140 regarding how busy the responding person is (in which case a greater “unknown time” may be added to the estimated time of arrival).PCT / US25 / 47512 23 September 2025 (23.O9.2O25)STR03FP703APCT

[0151] When computing the “unknown time” it may take for the responding person to arrive at the requesting person’s location, assistance app may take into account factors such as: multiple routes; how much information (if any) assistance app 108 has regarding the current workload of the responding person, whether the responding person’s responding device 140 has returned information to assistance app 108 or not, and if so, the content of that information; the presence of an elevator on the route from the responding person to the requesting person; variability in the different walking speed of individuals; and / or other factors. The “unknown time” may also be used by management ap when determining the confidence level of the estimated time of arrival. For example, the larger the unknown time, or the larger the adjustments made to the estimated time of arrival based on unknown factors, the lower assistance app will rank the confidence level of the estimated time of arrival. As another example, the confidence level may be reduced when there is no acknowledgement by the responding party to the assistance request using their responding device 140.

[0152] After computing the estimated time of arrival at step 214, assistance app 108 may forward another message to the requesting device 120 instructing controller 156 to display another status message 216 on display 162. In the example shown in FIG. 7, the status message 216 indicates the estimated time of arrival of the responding person, as well as a confidence level of the estimated time of arrival.

[0153] Still further, in the example shown in FIG. 7, the estimated time of arrival is presented as a range of time (e.g., 10-30 minutes). Assistance app 108 may be configured to determine the range for the estimated time of arrival in a variety of different manners. For example, assistance app 108 may be configured to use a first lower assumed walking speed of the responding person to compute a high estimate of how long it will take the person to walk to the requesting device 120, and then recalculate a lower estimated time of arrival by using a higher assumed walking speed. Alternatively, or additionally, assistance app 108 may be configured to automatically add a fixed amount or percentage of time to either or both of the estimated times of arrival. Assistance app 108 may also or alternatively be configured to automatically start with a minimum base amount of time that any response will take and then add the estimated walking time (or times) to that amount (as well as any additions that might be made thereto). In short, assistance app 108 may be configured to make one or more of a variety of adjustments to the initial calculation of the estimated time of arrival that is calculated by dividing the route distance by the assumed walking speed.PCT / US25 / 47512 23 September 2025 (23.O9.2O25)STR03FP703APCT

[0154] The confidence level is shown in message 216 to be low. This is because, in this example, the responding person has not yet provided any feedback to assistance app 108 at step 214. In other words, the message 216 is shown on requesting device 120 before the person associated with the responding device 140, or the responding device 140 itself, has responded to assistance app 108 with any information regarding the availability of that person to respond to the assistance request. This information is delivered to assistance app 108 at step 218, as will now be discussed.

[0155] At step 218, assistance app 108 receives a responsive message from responding device 140. The responsive message may be sent by responding device 140 automatically based upon one or more settings that the user of responding device 140 has configured or set, or it may be manually entered by the user of responding device 140. The settings may include such things as “unavailable,” or “available,” or “occupied for the next ten minutes,” etc. These settings are set by the user of responding device 140 through responding software app 180, which presents to the user one or more of these settings which the user can select, thereby causing the responding device 140 to automatically respond according to the selected settings. Alternatively, if the user of responding device 140 manually responds, this is performed by the user activating one or more controls 1821 of responding device 140 while responder app 180 is being executed. Responder app 180 then sends the manually entered response to assistance app 108 as step 218. Responder software app 180 may present a set of standard response options that the user can manually select (see, e.g., FIG. 12) and / or it may allow the user to manually enter a responsiveness status, including, for example, a manual estimate of the number of minutes it will take for the user to respond to the assistance request.

[0156] In response to receiving the responsive message from responding device 140, assistance app 108 updates the estimated time of arrival that was calculated at step 214 by performing a new calculation of the estimated time of arrival at step 218. The new estimated time of arrival takes into account the information contained within the responsiveness message received from responding device 140. Alternatively, or additionally, assistance app 108 calculates a new confidence level for the estimated time of arrival at step 218. Regardless of whether it calculates a new estimated time of arrival or a new confidence level (or both), assistance app 108 uses the information from the responsive message from responding device to perform these calculation(s).

[0157] Although the newly calculated time of arrival of step 218 will not change the distance the responding person needs to travel, nor will it change their assumed walking speed, it may change thePCT / US25 / 47512 23 September 2025 (23.O9.2O25)STR03FP703APCT adjustments made by assistance app 108 to the additions or subtractions that are made to this estimate. For example, if the responding caregiver indicates that they will be able to respond in five minutes or less, then assistance app 108 may proceed to add five minutes (or a slight adjustment thereto) to the estimated travel time of the responding person. This contrasts with the estimated time of arrival made at step 214, which may include added cushions of time to account for unknown information, such as the readiness of the responding person to being traveling to the requesting device 120. In other words, assistance app 108 may add a cushion of time to the estimated travel time to arrive at the estimated time of arrival, wherein the cushion of time is a set or defined amount of time intended to account for the fact that the responding party may be temporarily pre-occupied with other tasks, and therefore may not be able to start walking toward the requesting device 120 for an unknown amount of time. At step 218, assistance app 108 may remove this unknown cushion of time from the estimated time of arrival calculation and replace it with the time information provided in the responsive message sent from the responding device 140 to assistance app 108.

[0158] After calculating the revised estimated time of arrival at step 218, assistance app 108 may be configured to send an updated message 220 to requesting device 120, or otherwise instruct controller 156 of the requesting device 120 to display the updated message 220. The updated message includes the newly calculated estimated time of arrival and / or the newly calculated confidence level. In some versions, assistance app 108 may adjust the confidence level by a predetermined amount automatically in response to receiving the responsiveness message from responding device 140. Thus, in the example shown in FIG. 7, assistance app 108 causes the requesting device 120 to display a confidence level of “low” in message 216, which is displayed before the user of responding device 140 has had a chance to respond; and to automatically switch to a high confidence level in message 220 because the user has responded with more definitive information about when they will be able to start traveling toward the requesting device 120.

[0159] After completing step 218, assistance app 108 continues to provide periodic updates to the estimated time of arrival based upon one or more both of the following: (a) the movement (or lack of movement) of the responding device 140; and (b) any further information sent by the responding device 140 to assistance app 108. With respect to the former, assistance app 108 repetitively determines the location of the responding device 140 through its interactions with locator units 60 and / or patient support apparatuses 20, and assistance app 108 monitors that movement (or lack of movement) to make adjustments to the estimated time of arrival. These adjustments may include the following: increasing thePCT / US25 / 47512 23 September 2025 (23.O9.2O25)STR03FP703APCT estimated time of arrival if the responding person doesn’t start moving until after he or she is expected to start moving (based on the responsiveness message sent from responding device 140 to assistance app 108), decreasing the estimated time of arrival if the responding person starts walking toward the requesting device 120 and moves at a rate faster than the assumed rate of walking, or increasing the estimated time of arrival if the responding person starts walking toward the requesting device 120 and moves at a slower rate than the assumed rate or walking.

[0160] Assistance app 108 may also update the estimated time of arrival at step 222 based upon additional messages sent from responding device 140 to assistance app 108. The additional messages may include information manually entered by the user of responding device 140, or it may be automatically generated by controller 172 of the responding device 140 based on the instructions of responding software app 180. In the former case, the user of responding device 140 may enter new information into responding device 140 that indicates a new time at which the user expects to be able to complete their current task (and thus start walking toward requesting device 120). In the latter case, controller 172 may be programmed by responder software app 180 to automatically send an updated message to assistance app 108 if it does not detect movement toward the requesting device 120 by the time previously estimated at step 218. In other words, for example, if responding device 140 initially sends a message of “ready in 5 minutes” at step 218, responder software app 180 may be configured to automatically monitor the passage of time and to determine if responding device 140 is moving toward the requesting device 120 after five minutes have expired. If not, controller 172 may send an updated message to assistance app that indicates movement has not yet started, and that the estimated time of arrival will therefore be longer than originally anticipated. If so, controller 172 may send an updated message confirming that movement has commenced.

[0161] In addition, controller 172 may be configured to automatically send a message to assistance app 108 indicating movement has commenced whenever it detects such movement. That is, responder software app 180 may be configured to instruct controller 172 to use UWB transceiver 178 to repetitively range with one or more nearby locator units 60 to determine if it is moving toward the requesting device 120. In response to that determination, controller 172 may send status update message to assistance app 108 indicating such movement, or the lack of such movement. These messages may prompt assistance app 108 to update its estimated time of arrival at step 222.PCT / US25 / 47512 23 September 2025 (23.O9.2O25)STR03FP703APCT

[0162] Regardless of the trigger for the updated estimated time of arrival at step 222, assistance app 108 may be configured to send an updated message 224 to the requesting device 120 (or instruct controller 156 to display an updated message 224) as part of the updated calculation of step 222. The updated message includes an updated estimate of the arrival time and / or an updated estimate of the confidence level of the arrival time. In the example shown in FIG. 7, the updated message 224 includes a tighter window for the estimated time of arrival (when compared to the estimated messages 220 or 216). Step 222 may be repeated for the entire time it takes for the user of responding device 140 to arrive at the requesting device 120.

[0163] FIG. 8 illustrates, as noted previously, the algorithm 200 followed by assistance app 108 when a responding person is diverted at some point before arriving at the requesting person’s location. Although not illustrated in FIG. 8 (or FIG. 9), the example of algorithm 200 shown in FIG. 8 includes steps 202, 206, and 210 (as well as messages 204, 208, and 212). That is, although FIG. 8 starts at step 214, this has been done merely for abbreviation purposes. Algorithm 200 in FIG. 8 (and FIG. 9) starts with step 202 and executes steps 206 and 210 before commencing with steps 214, which is shown in FIG. 8. Assistance app then proceeds to executes steps 214, 218, and 222 (which are shown in FIG. 8) in the same manner as these steps were described above with respect to FIG. 7, and which need not be redescribed herein. The same is true for messages 216, 220, and 224— they are displayed in the same manner as has been previously described with respect to FIG. 7. That is, in summary, algorithm 200 of FIG. 8 follows all of the same steps as algorithm 200 shown in FIG. 7 with the exception of step 226, which will now be described.

[0164] At step 226 of algorithm 200 (FIG. 8), the responding person gets diverted to another task that has a higher priority than responding to the assistance request from the requesting person’s device 120. In the example shown in FIG. 8, the higher priority task is a code blue emergency at some other location in the healthcare facility. It will be understood that this code blue emergency is but one type of example of a higher priority task that may divert the responding person away from responding to the assistance request from the requesting device 120. Other types of higher priority tasks might prompt algorithm 200 to follow step 226. Assistance app 108 is apprised of any of these higher priority tasks through its communications with one or more other servers, such as EMR server 92, caregiver assignment server 104, ADT server 102, badge server 94, and / or other servers. Each of these servers sendsPCT / US25 / 47512 23 September 2025 (23.O9.2O25)STR03FP703APCT information regarding a higher priority task to assistance app 108, and assistance app 108, upon receiving the information about the higher priority tasks, executed step 226.

[0165] At step 226, assistance app 108 re-calculates the estimated time of arrival using any new information it may have about the higher priority task, including the location of the higher priority task (if known), the content of the higher priority tasks (which may provide an indication of how long the responding person will be busy with the higher priority task), and other information. Assistance app 108 may use the distance between the responding person’s current location and the location of the higher priority task, as well as the distance between the location of the higher priority task and the requesting device 120 to recalculate a new travel time component of the estimated time of arrival. Assistance app 108 may also use the content of the higher priority task to assign a new delay time component of the estimated time of arrival, and / or it may use a new value for unknown time component of the estimated time of arrival. After calculating the new estimated time of arrival, assistance app 108 sends a message to the requesting device 120 instructing it to display a new message 228 on display 162. The content of message 228 contains information about the newly updated estimated time of arrival and / or the newly updated confidence level of the estimated time of arrival.

[0166] The newly updated confidence level may be determined by assistance app 108 using the same techniques it uses for all determinations of the confidence level. That is, assistance app 108 may use standardized estimates for unknown parameters, such as the unknown amount of time the responding person will be occupied performing the higher priority task. In some version of assistance app 108, the confidence level is determined according to one of three potential levels: low, medium, and high. Other levels and / or metrics may be used to assess the confidence level. In some versions, assistance app 108 may only use two of these levels (e.g., low and high). Still other variations are possible.

[0167] FIG. 9 illustrates, as noted previously, the algorithm 200 followed by assistance app 108 when the original recipient identified by assistance app 108 does not respond, or responds with an indication that he or she is busy and / or will not be able to provide assistance to the person requesting assistance. Although not illustrated in FIG. 9, the example of algorithm 200 shown in FIG. 9 includes steps 202, 206, 210, and 214 (as well as messages 204, 208, 212, and 216). That is, although FIG. 9 starts at step 230, this has been done merely for abbreviation purposes. Algorithm 200 in FIG. 9 starts with step 202 and executes steps 206-214 before commencing with step 230, which is shown in FIG. 9.PCT / US25 / 47512 23 September 2025 (23.O9.2O25)STR03FP703APCT

[0168] At step 230, assistance app 108 determines that the responding device 140 has not responded within a preset period of time. The preset period of time can be varied in different versions of assistance app 108, but may, in some versions, be on the order of a minute or so. While assistance app 108 is waiting for the responding person to respond (via responding device 140), it may send a message to requesting device 120 instructing it to display message 232. Message 232, in the example shown in FIG. 9, tells the user of requesting device 120 that system 100 is waiting for a response from the person assistance app 108 initially contacted for providing assistance.

[0169] After waiting the predetermined time period and not receiving a response from responding device 140, assistance app 108 proceeds to step 234. At step 234, assistance app 108 determines a new recipient for the assistance request sent from requesting device 120. Assistance app 108 uses the same method for determining the new recipient as it did for determining the original recipient, except the original recipient is no longer part of the determination. While determining the new recipient, assistance app may send a message to the requesting device 120 instructing it to display message 236. As shown in FIG. 9, message 236 may display a message showing a low confidence estimated time of arrival. The low confidence is due to the fact that no one has yet responded to the assistance request. The estimated time of arrival may be the same as that computed at step 214, or it may be updated to account for a new travel time (for the new recipient) and / or to account for other factors.

[0170] After determining the new recipient at step 234, assistance app 108 proceeds to step 238, where it forwards the assistance request to a new responding device 140 associated with the new recipient. The new assistance request, as with the original assistance request, may take on a variety of different forms, such as a text message, a phone call, an email, a Direct Message (DM), or any other type of electronic communication that is deliverable to responding device 140. After the second recipient receives the assistance request at step 238, assistance app 108 proceeds to calculate a new estimated time of arrival for the new recipient to respond to the assistance request. Step 238 therefore is essentially the same as step 214 except that assistance app 108 applies step 238 to a different recipient (the new recipient, rather than the original recipient). The new estimated time of arrival may take into account all of the same components (e.g., travel time, delay time, unknown or variable time) as the original estimated time of arrival, just changed to match the position, workload, and other characteristics associated with the new recipient.PCT / US25 / 47512 23 September 2025 (23.O9.2O25)STR03FP703APCT

[0171] At step 238, assistance app 108 may also send a message to the requesting device 120 instructing it to display a message 240. Message 240 simply displays the results of the new estimated time of arrival (calculated at step 238), as well as the new confidence level (also determined at step 238).

[0172] After completing step 238, assistance app 108 proceeds to step 242, where, in the particular example shown in FIG. 9, the responding person has activated a snooze feature on the responding device 140. The snooze features is a feature implemented by responder software app 180 that allows the user of responding device 140 to activate a control (snooze control) that automatically “snoozes” the assistance request received from assistance app 108. That is, the snooze feature will send a response back to assistance app 108 informing assistance app 108 that responding device 140 has received the assistance request and the recipient (i.e. user of responding device 140) has acknowledged the assistance request, but won’t be able to respond to the assistance request for a set period of time (e.g. 5 minutes, or 10 minutes, or something else). In some versions of responding software app 180, app 180 is configured to allow the user of responding device 140 to customize, and / or select, the value of the snooze time, which is the amount of time that device 140 will inform assistance app 108 the user needs before responding to the assistance request. In such versions, the user of responding device 140 can simply activate one or more of controls 182 on responding device 140 in response to receiving notification of the assistance request (which may comprise an audio and / or visual alert), and this activation of the one or more controls will cause controller 172 to automatically send a snooze notification to assistance app 108. The snooze notification sent to assistance app 108, in some versions, will include a time value for the snooze function, and assistance app 108 will use that time value by incorporating it into the delay time component of the estimated time of arrival.

[0173] It will be understood that the snooze feature illustrated and described herein with respect to FIG. 9 is an optional feature that may or may not be incorporated into assistance system 100. It will also be understood that, although FIG. 9 illustrates the use of the snooze feature in the situation where a second recipient has to be chosen (because the first one has not responded), this is merely done for purposes of illustration. The snooze feature can be activated for any of the situations shown in FIGS. 7, 8, and / or 9. Alternatively, the snooze feature may be omitted from any of these situations. Whether the snooze feature is activated or not depends upon the actions of the user of the responding device 140 and their decision as to whether or not to activate this feature.PCT / US25 / 47512 23 September 2025 (23.O9.2O25)STR03FP703APCT

[0174] Upon receiving the snooze notification from responding device 140, assistance app 108 calculates an updated estimated time of arrival of the new recipient (caregiver “B” in FIG. 9) at the location of the requesting device 120. This updated time of arrival, as noted, includes a known or unknown amount of time added to the delay time component of the estimated time of arrival due to the snooze feature being activated by the recipient. As part of step 242, assistance app 108 may send a message to the requesting device 120 instructing it to display a message 244 that includes the new estimated time of arrival and / or the newly updated confidence level. The confidence level may be higher because the activation of the snooze feature is a positive step explicitly taken by the caregiver regarding the assistance request, and therefore can be considered of higher confidence (as opposed to situations where the caregiver does not respond).

[0175] After completing step 242, assistance app 108 proceeds to step 246, which may be the same as step 222 (FIG. 7), only adjusted to apply to the second recipient, rather than the original recipient. Similarly, the message 248 that is displayed as part of step 246 may be the same, or of the same type, as the message 224 described above with respect to FIG. 7. These descriptions need not be repeated herein.

[0176] FIG. 10 illustrates one example of a floor plan of a portion of a healthcare facility in which a requesting person 420 is positioned in a first room 422 and a responding person 424 is positioned at a second location 426. The requesting person 420 is utilizing a requesting device 120 to ask for assistance using the assistance system 100. In this particular example, assistance app 108 selects responding person 424 as the responding person, and therefore sends a message to the responding device 140 associated with that responding person 424.

[0177] As part of the calculation of the estimated time of arrival of responding person 424 at room 422, and in more particular, as part of the calculation of the travel time of the responding person, assistance app 108 determines the route 430 between responding person 424 and requesting person 420. In the example shown in FIG. 10, the route 430 includes three segments: 430a, 430b, and 430c. Assistance app 108 includes data defining the floor plan shown in FIG. 10, including the dimensions of the walls, hallway, corridors, etc. From this data, assistance app 108 is able to determine the length of each of the segments 430a, 430b, and 430c. The distances of these three segments are summed together by assistance app 108 to determine the total distance of travel. Assistance app 108 then uses this total distance of travel to compute an estimated time of travel by dividing the total distance by the assumed speed of the responding person 424. The assumed speed may be varied for routes 430 that involve goingPCT / US25 / 47512 23 September 2025 (23.O9.2O25)STR03FP703APCT up / down stairways and, as noted previously, may be modified to account for speeds of different persons and / or to account for past statistical data regarding the movement speed of the healthcare facility workers.

[0178] FIG. 11 illustrates one example of a request screen 260 that requestor software app 164 may instruct controller 156 to display on display 162 of requesting device 120. In the example shown therein, the requesting device 120 is a conventional smart phone. Requestor app 164 is downloaded to the phone and executed by controller 156. Screen 260 includes a request control 166, a response data section 262, and an additional data section 264. The request control 166, of which there may be more than one for different types of requests, is the control that the user of requesting device 120 activates in order to call for assistance. In some instances, request control 166 may be an icon or other image displayed on display 162 that is touched by the user when the user wishes to request assistance (for a touchscreen display 162). In other instances, the request control might be a physical button, switch, dial, or the like.

[0179] However, implemented, when request assistance control 166 is activated, requestor software app 164 instructs controller 156 to send an assistance request to assistance app 108, which then reacts to the assistance request in the manners specified by algorithm 200 (illustrated in FIGS. 7-9). While assistance app 108 is carrying out one or more of the steps of algorithm 200, it sends occasional messages to requesting device 120 instructing it to display certain messages (e.g. messages 204, 208, 212, etc.). These messages are displayed on areas 262 and / or 264 of the display 162. For example, all of the estimated times of arrival may be displayed in the response data area 262, while the confidence levels may be displayed in the additional data area 264. The additional data area 264 may also include other data besides the examples shown in the messages of FIGS. 7-9. Such additional data may include information about the specific person responsible for providing assistance, their location, what activity they are engage in, when they start moving, when they are finished with the current task, etc.

[0180] It will of course be understood that software app 164 does not need to instruct controller 156 to display data from assistance app 108 in two different locations on display 162, or in any particular location at all. In some versions, controller 156 may display any of the data in a single area of display 162, thereby consolidating the two areas 262 and 264 into a single display area. Still other manners of displaying data may be followed by requestor app 164.

[0181] FIG. 12 illustrates one example of a response screen 270 that responder software app 180 may instruct controller 172 to display on display 176 of responding device 140. In the example shown therein, the responding device 140 is a conventional smart phone. Responder app 180 is downloaded toPCT / US25 / 47512 23 September 2025 (23.O9.2O25)STR03FP703APCT the phone and executed by controller 172. Screen 270 includes a request window 272 and a plurality of response options 274a, b, c, d, e, and f. Request window 272 displays more information about the request for assistance being made by the user of requesting device 120. For example, request window 272 may display “Patient X is requesting assistance with going to the bathroom,” or “Patient X needs help with his / her medication.” Still other types of information about the request may be displayed.

[0182] In the example shown in FIG. 12, response screen 270 includes a plurality of preset response options 272a-f that a user may select. It will be understood that controller 172 may be configured to display other options from the ones shown in FIG. 12. In the example of FIG. 12, the options include a do not disturb option 274a, a snooze option 274b, a 0-5 minute option 274c, a 5-10 minute option 274d, a greater than 10 minute option 274e, and a forward option 274f. If the user presses the do not disturb option 274a, controller 172 is programmed (by responder app 180) to send a response to assistance app 108 indicating that the user of responding device 140 is currently in a do-not-disturb mode. In this situation, assistance app 108 will typically re-determine a new recipient of the assistance request (i.e., it will jump to step 230 of FIG. 9 and proceed from there to re-assign a new recipient).

[0183] If the user of responding device 140 presses on option 274b, this activates the snooze feature, discussed previously. As noted, this causes assistance app 108 to assign a predefined amount of time to the “delay estimate” component of the estimated time of arrival. If the user of responding device 140 presses on any of options 274c-e, this causes controller 172 to send a message to assistance app 108 indicating that the user will respond to the assistance request in the time period designated by these response options (e.g. response 274c indicates the responding person will respond in less than five minutes; response 274d indicates the responding person will respond in five to ten minutes; and response 274e indicates the responding person will respond in more than ten minutes.

[0184] If the user of responding device 140 presses on option 274f, this causes controller 172 to send a message to assistance app 108 instructing the assistance app 108 to forward the assistance request to another person. In some versions of responding app 180, the user of responding device 140 may be able to instruct responder app 180 who the specific person is to whom the assistance request should be forwarded. In that case, assistance app 108 forwards the assistance request to the designated person. In other versions, assistance app 108 may decide who to forward the assistance request to without any input from the responding device 140.PCT / US25 / 47512 23 September 2025 (23.O9.2O25)STR03FP703APCT

[0185] It will be understood that, in some versions, responding device 140 may be programmed to allow the user to set any of the options 274a-f shown in FIG 12 ahead of time (i . e. , prior to receiving a request for assistance from assistance app 108). In such situations, when the user of responding device 140 receives a notification that a person is requesting their assistance, software app 180 will instruct controller 172 to respond to assistance app 108 without requiring the user to manually select any of options 274a-f. Instead, assistance app 108 makes this selection automatically, based on the user’s previously entered selection, and informs assistance app 108 of the selection.

[0186] In some versions of assistance system 100, one or more of the responding devices 140 may be programmed to send their user’s selection of any of options 274a-f to assistance app 108 prior to a request for assistance being received from a requesting device 120. In these versions, assistance app 108 can compute a more accurate estimated time of arrival without sending any messages to the responding devices 140, and assistance app 108 may be able to more easily select who the recipient of the assistance request should be because the app 108 already has information about how each potential recipient will respond to the assistance request.

[0187] It will also be understood that, although requesting device 120 and responding device 140 have primarily been described herein as stand-alone devices, either or both of these devices 120 may be built into other devices in some versions of assistance system 100. For example, in some versions of patient support apparatus 20, requesting device 120 may be built into patient support apparatus 20. When so built it, the requesting device 120 is built into patient support apparatus 20 in addition to the normal nurse call feature of patient support apparatus 20 (e.g., nurse call control 50g; FIG. 3), thereby providing two different manners of summoning assistance. As was explained previously, the nurse call control 50g summons a nurse through a conventional nurse call system, which is independent of the assistance system 100 described herein.

[0188] In some versions, patient support apparatus 20 and / or one or more locator units 60 are configured to automatically determine the direction of movement of patient support apparatus 20 and / or devices 120 and / or 140, and / or their speed, as they pass by one or more locator units. This direction of movement and / or speed is determined by repetitive ranging between the nearby locator unit 60 and the moving patient support apparatus 20, requesting device 120, or responding device 140. The repeated ranging indicates whether the distance between the locator and the moving device (e.g. patient support apparatus 20, requesting device 120, or responding device 140) is increasing or decreasing, and byPCT / US25 / 47512 23 September 2025 (23.O9.2O25)STR03FP703APCT knowing the orientation of the locator unit 60 (as determined during installation), the direction of movement of the moving device may be determined (by the device itself and / or assistance app 108). In some situations, repetitive measurements of distance between multiple locator units 60 and the moving devices may be used to determine the direction of movement and / or speed of the moving device. The direction of movement of the moving device, and / or its speed, may be utilized by assistance app 108 when determining, or updating, an estimated time of arrival of the responding party at the location of the requesting device 120.

[0189] In some versions of responder software app 180 and / or assistance app 108, either or both of these software apps may be programmed to provide navigation assistance, if requested, to the user of responding device 140, thereby helping guide that person from their current location to the location of the requesting device 120. The assistance is provided based on the current location of the responding device 140, as well as updates to that location as it moves through the healthcare facility. This location and movement information is determined in the manners previously discussed. Assistance app 108 is programmed to use the floor plan information it has access to to share information about the route the responding person should follow to get to the requesting device 120, such as “turn right here,” “keep walking straight,” “turn left at the next left,” “get on the elevator to floor 3,” etc.

[0190] In some versions of assistance system 100, assistance app 108 may be configured to keep track of the actual time it takes for a responding person to get to the location of the requesting device 120. This information is then compared by app 108 to the estimated time of arrival. In some versions, app 108 may keep track of how often each responding person responds to an assistance request within the estimated time of arrival, and to reward those responders who are able to consistently respond within that estimated time of arrival. This responsiveness may be recorded by app 108 and made available to administrators and / or managers of the healthcare facility in order to help them the responsiveness level of their employees.

[0191] When assistance app 108 selects the recipient of the assistance request from requesting device 120, assistance app 108 may, in addition to any of the factors previously discuss, take into account any one or more of the following factors: a criticality level of the assistance request, a panic status of the requesting device 120 (e.g. requesting device 120 may include a panic button), whether a caregiver is in a cafeteria or on a lunch or other break, whether another assistance request 120 is received from another requesting device 120 while the first assistance request has not yet been resolved, which direction thePCT / US25 / 47512 23 September 2025 (23.O9.2O25)STR03FP703APCT responding person may be walking when the assistance request is received, which team members are assigned to the requesting person, the workload of each of the team members, whether a responding person has stopped walking while enroute to a requesting person, an escalation of the assistance request to one or more other recipients, and / or other factors. Assistance app 108 may also use any of these factors as a trigger for recalculating an estimated time of arrival and / or a confidence level for the estimated time of arrival.

[0192] In some situations, assistance app 108 may be used in situations where the assistance request involves a patient support apparatus 20 being moved from a first location to a second location, either with a patient being supported thereon or without a patient being supported thereon. Patient support apparatuses 20 are configured to send motion information to assistance app 108 via network transceiver 96. The motion information may include signals indicating when a brake on the patient support apparatus 20 is released and / or activated, as well information regarding the movement of one or more of the wheels 24 on the patient support apparatus 20. The motion information may also include information about when the AC power cord 150 is plugged into and unplugged from an electrical outlet 110. Assistance app 108 uses this information to determine when movement of the patient support apparatus 20 toward the requesting device 120 commences, and may update its calculation of the estimated time of arrival in response to the patient support apparatus 20 commencing movement, or stopping. Thus, for example, if a caregiver requests that a patient be transported from point A to point B, assistance app 108 may provide an initial estimated time of arrival while the patient support apparatus 20 is not moving, and then recalculate the estimated time of arrival in response to the patient support apparatus 20 starting to move. In some versions, the message displayed on the requesting device 120 may indicate the movement status of the patient support apparatus 20 (i.e. moving or not moving).

[0193] In those situations where the assistance request involves transporting a patient to another destination within the healthcare facility, such as for testing or other purposes, patient support apparatus 20 may be configured to transmit current weight readings from scale system 144 to assistance app 108 using network transceiver 96. The weight readings indicate whether a patient is currently present on the patient support apparatus 20 or not. Assistance app 108 may use this information when calculating the estimated time of arrival of the patient at the destination. For example, if assistance app 108 is informed from patient support apparatus 20 (and / or the location information from locator units 60) that patient support apparatus 20 is moving, but there is no patient onboard patient support apparatus 20 (as indicated by the scalePCT / US25 / 47512 23 September 2025 (23.O9.2O25)STR03FP703APCT readings from scale system 144), assistance app 108 will not mistakenly calculate an estimated time of arrival of the patient that presumes a patient is onboard patient support apparatus 20. Instead, assistance app 108 will calculate an estimated time of arrival based on the patient yet not being onboard patient support apparatus 20.

[0194] In some versions of assistance system 100, assistance app 108 may instruct controller 98 of patient support apparatus 20 to re-route a nurse call through assistance system 100, instead of through the conventional nurse call system (which the patient support apparatus 20 may be communicatively coupled to via outlet 64). In such situations, when a patient presses on the nurse call button onboard patient support apparatus 20 (e g., control 50g; FIG. 3), controller 98 sends a message to assistance app 108 via network transceiver 96 instead of sending information to outlet 64 via nurse call interface 154. That is, controller 98 routes the assistance request to server 84 and not to outlet 64. Alternatively, or additionally, assistance app 108 may instruct controller 98 to route the assistance request to both the communication outlet 64 and to assistance app 108.

[0195] When assistance app 108 is configured to instruct patient support apparatus 20 to re-route an assistance request from communication outlet 64 to assistance app 108, assistance app 108 may implement this re-routing in response to one or more triggers. One such trigger is the location of the caregiver assigned to the patient in patient support apparatus 20. If the caregiver is close to the patient’s room when the assistance request is placed (as determined from locator units 60), assistance app 108 may re-route the assistance request to the caregiver’s responding device 140, thereby making it easier for the caregiver to respond to the assistance request. Other triggers may also be used for such re-routing.

[0196] In some versions, UWB transceivers 126, 132, 158, and 178 (FIG. 5) may operate in the same manner as, and include any of the same functions as, the anchors and pseudo-anchors disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. patent application serial number 63 / 193,777 filed May 27, 2021, by inventors Thomas Deeds et al. and entitled SYSTEM FOR ASSOCIATING MEDICAL DEVICE DATA, the complete disclosure of which has already been incorporated herein by reference. In some versions, locator units 60 may also be configured to determine the location of a device (e.g. devices 120, 140, and / or patient support apparatus 20) in any of the manners disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. patent application serial number 63 / 132,514 filed December 31, 2020, by inventors Alexander Bodurka et al. and entitled PATIENT SUPPORT APPARATUS AND MEDICAL DEVICE NETWORKS, and in commonly assigned U.S. patent application serial number 63 / 154,677 filed February 27, 2021 , by inventors Celso Pereira et al. and entitledPCT / US25 / 47512 23 September 2025 (23.O9.2O25)STR03FP703APCTSYSTEM FOR DETERMINING PATIENT SUPPORT APPARATUS AND MEDICAL DEVICE LOCATION, the complete disclosures of both of which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0197] In some versions of assistance app 108, it may be modified to also execute one or more of the functions of a caregiver assistance software application of the type described in the following commonly assigned patent applications: U.S. patent application serial number 62 / 826,97, filed March 29, 2019 by inventors Thomas Durlach et al. and entitled PATIENT CARE SYSTEM; U.S. patent application serial number 16 / 832,760 filed March 27, 2020, by inventors Thomas Durlach et al. and entitled PATIENT CARE SYSTEM; and / or PCT patent application serial number PCT / US2020 / 039587 filed June 25, 2020, by inventors Thomas Durlach et al. and entitled CAREGIVER ASSISTANCE SYSTEM, the complete disclosures of which are all incorporated herein by reference. That is, assistance app 108 may be configured to share with one or more of devices 120 and / or 140 any of the information shared with the electronic devices disclosed in these aforementioned patent applications. Thus, for example, assistance app 108 may be configured to not only share the location of patient support apparatuses 20 (and any devices that may be associated with them) with devices 120 and / or 140, but it may also forward patient data to devices 120, 140 from one or more associated devices (e.g. vital sign data, infusion pump data, etc.), patient support apparatus status data (e.g. current siderail position, bed exit status, brake status, motion lockout status, height status, scale data, etc.) badge data, and / or caregiver rounding data (e.g. when the last rounding was performed for a particular patient, when the next rounds are due, etc.).

[0198] In some versions, patient support apparatus 20 and / or locator units 60 include any of the same structures, functions, and / or features of any of the patient support apparatuses and / or wall units disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. patent application serial number 63 / 245,245 filed September 17, 2021, by inventors Kirby Neihouseret al. and entitled SYSTEM FOR LOCATING PATIENT SUPPORT APPARATUSES, the complete disclosure of which has already been incorporated herein by reference.

[0199] It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the use of the term “transceiver” throughout this specification is not intended to be limited to devices in which a transmitter and receiver are necessarily within the same housing, or share some circuitry. Instead, the term “transceiver” is used broadly herein to refer to both structures in which circuitry is shared between the transmitter and receiver, and transmitter-receivers in which the transmitter and receiver do not share circuitry and / or a common housing. Thus, the term “transceiver” refers to any device having a transmitter component and a receiverPCT / US25 / 47512 23 September 2025 (23.O9.2O25)STR03FP703APCT component, regardless of whether the two components are a common entity, separate entities, or have some overlap in their structures.

[0200] Various additional alterations and changes beyond those already mentioned herein can be made to the above-described embodiments. This disclosure is presented for illustrative purposes and should not be interpreted as an exhaustive description of all embodiments or to limit the scope of the claims to the specific elements illustrated or described in connection with these embodiments. For example, and without limitation, any individual element(s) of the described embodiments may be replaced by alternative elements that provide substantially similar functionality or otherwise provide adequate operation. This includes, for example, presently known alternative elements, such as those that might be currently known to one skilled in the art, and alternative elements that may be developed in the future, such as those that one skilled in the art might, upon development, recognize as an alternative. Any reference to claim elements in the singular, for example, using the articles “a,” “an,” “the” or “said,” is not to be construed as limiting the element to the singular.

Claims

PCT / US25 / 47512 23 September 2025 (23.09.2025)STR03FP703APCTCLAIMSWhat is claimed is:

1. A communication system for a healthcare facility comprising: a first software application embodied in a first non-transitory computer readable medium and adapted to be executed by a processor of a mobile electronic device; a second software application embodied in a second non-transitory computer readable medium and adapted to be executed by a server; wherein the first software application is adapted, when executed by the processor of the mobile electronic device, to perform the following: receive a location identifier from a location beacon positioned within range of a location beacon; receive an assistance request from a user of the mobile electronic device; transmit the location identifier and the assistance request to the server; and wherein the second software application is adapted, when executed by the server, to perform the following: use the location identifier to determine a first location of the mobile electronic device; use the location of the mobile electronic device to select a recipient of the assistance request; forward the assistance request to the recipient; determine a second location of the recipient; determine a responsiveness state of the recipient; use the responsiveness state to determine response time data, the response time data containing information related to how much time a response to the assistance request may take; and transmit the response time data to the mobile electronic device; and wherein the first software application is further configured to display the response time data on a display of the mobile electronic device.PCT / US25 / 47512 23 September 2025 (23.09.2025)STR03FP703APCT2. The communication system of claim 1 wherein the second software application is configured to instruct the server to determine an estimated time of arrival of the recipient at the first location and to include the estimated time of arrival in the response time data.

3. The communication system of claim 1 wherein the second software application is configured to instruct the server to determine a movement status of the recipient wherein the movement status indicates if the recipient is moving toward the first location or not, and to use the movement status in determining the responsiveness state.

4. The communication system of claim 3 wherein the second software application is configured to instruct the server to not include an estimated time of arrival of the recipient in the response time data if the movement status indicates the recipient is not moving toward the first location.

5. The communication system of claim 1 wherein the second software application is further configured to instruct the server to determine an acknowledgement status of the recipient wherein the acknowledgement status indicates if the recipient has acknowledged the assistance requestor not, and to use the acknowledgement status in determining the responsiveness state.

6. The communication system of claim 5 wherein the second software application is further configured to instruct the server to not include an estimated time of arrival in the response time data until the acknowledgement status indicates the recipient has acknowledged the assistance request.

7. The communication system of claim 1 wherein the second software application is further configured to instruct the server to determine a snooze status of the recipient wherein the snooze status indicates if the recipient has placed the assistance request in a snooze state, and to use the snooze status in determining the responsiveness state.

8. The communication system of claim 7 wherein the second software application is further configured to instruct the server to determine if the recipient acknowledges the assistance request within a threshold time period, to determine a second recipient of the assistance request if the recipient does notPCT / US25 / 47512 23 September 2025 (23.09.2025)STR03FP703APCT acknowledge the assistance request within the threshold time period, to determine a second responsiveness state of the second recipient, and to use the second responsiveness state to determine the response time data.

9. The communication system of claim 1 wherein the second software application is further configured to instruct the server to send a message to the mobile electronic device indicating that the server is in the process of identifying the recipient.

10. The communication system of claim 1 wherein the second software application is further configured to instruct the server to send a message to the mobile electronic device indicating that the server is in the process of routing the assistance request.

11. The communication system of claim 1 wherein the second software application is further configured to instruct the server to determine an estimated time of arrival of the recipient at the first location, to determine a confidence level of the estimated time of arrival, and to include both the estimated time of arrival and the confidence level in the response time data.

12. The communication system of claim 1 wherein the second software application is further configured to instruct the server to determine if a diversion status of the recipient wherein the diversion status indicates if the recipient has been diverted from responding to the assistance request, and to use the diversion status in determining the responsiveness state.

13. The communication system of claim 12 wherein the second software application is configured to instruct the server to determine the diversion status of the recipient based on whether the server has transmitted a task to the recipient having a higher priority than the assistance request.

14. The communication system of claim 1 wherein the second software application is further configured to instruct the server to repetitively determine the responsiveness state of the recipient, to update the response time data, and to transmit updated response time data to the mobile electronic device.PCT / US25 / 47512 23 September 2025 (23.09.2025)STR03FP703APCT15. The communication system of claim 1 wherein the user is a patient and the recipient is a caregiver.

16. The communication system of claim 1 wherein the second software application is configured to forward the assistance request to a cell phone of the recipient.

17. The communication system of claim 1 wherein the second software application is configured to forward the assistance request to a badge of the recipient.

18. The communication system of claim 1 wherein the second software application is further configured to instruct the server to determine an estimated time range of arrival of the recipient at the first location, and to include the estimated time range of arrival in the response time data.

19. The communication system of claim 2 wherein the second software application is further configured to instruct the server to determine the estimated time of arrival by consulting a map of the healthcare facility to determine an obstruction-free pathway from the second location to the first location, by determining a length of the pathway, and by using an estimated speed of movement of the recipient along the pathway.

20. The communication system of claim 1 further comprising a patient support apparatus, wherein the patient support apparatus comprises a support surface adapted to support a patient, and wherein the location beacon is positioned onboard the patient support apparatus.

21. The communication system of claim 1 further comprising a stationary communication unit mounted to a known location within the healthcare facility, wherein the stationary communication unit includes the location beacon.

22. The communication system of claim 1 wherein the stationary communication unit further includes an RF transceiver adapted to communicate directly with a patient support apparatus positioned adjacent to the stationary communication unit.PCT / US25 / 47512 23 September 2025 (23.09.2025)STR03FP703APCT23. The communication system of claim 22 wherein the RF transceiver is a Bluetooth transceiver.

24. The communication system of claim 22 wherein the RF transceiver is an ultra-wideband transceiver.

25. The communication system of claim 1 wherein the location beacon includes a first ultra- wideband transceiver adapted to communicate with a second ultra-wideband transceiver onboard the mobile electronic device.

25. The communication system of claim 1 wherein the second software application is further configured to instruct the server to determine a do-not-disturb status of the recipient, and to use the do-not- disturb status in determining the responsiveness state.

27. The communication system of claim 26 wherein the second software application is further configured to instruct the server to determine the do-not-disturb status of the recipient by communicating with a second mobile electronic device carried by the recipient.

28. The communication system of claim 3 wherein the second software application is further configured to instruct the server to determine an estimated time of arrival of the recipient at the first location, to update the estimated time of arrival as the recipient moves, and to update the response time data as the recipient moves.

29. The communication system of claim 1 wherein the second software application is further configured to instruct the server to communicate with a second mobile electronic device associated with the recipient.

30. The communication system of claim 29 wherein second software application is further configured to instruct the server to send navigation instructions to the second mobile electronic device, thePCT / US25 / 47512 23 September 2025 (23.09.2025)STR03FP703APCT navigation instructions including directions for the recipient to navigate from the second location to the first location.

31. The communication system of claim 1 wherein second software application is further configured to instruct the server to determine if the assistance request is of a first type or a second type, and to select the recipient based on whether the assistance request is of the first type or the second type.

32. The communication system of claim 31 wherein the first type of assistance request is for transporting a patient from the first location to another location, and the second type of assistance request is for a healthcare worker to bring an item to the user.

33. The communication system of claim 1 further including a third software application embodied in a third non-transitory computer readable medium and adapted to be executed by a processor of a second mobile electronic device; wherein the third software application is further configured to instruct the processor of the second mobile electronic device to receive sensor data from a device positioned within communication range of the second mobile electronic device; and to also use the sensor data to determine the response time data.

34. The communication system of claim 33 wherein sensor data is data from a patient support apparatus.

35. The communication system of claim 34 wherein the sensor data is from one of a brake sensor onboard the patient support apparatus, a power cable sensor onboard the patient support apparatus, or a motion sensor onboard the patient support apparatus.

36. The communication system of claim 1 further including a third software application embodied in a third non-transitory computer readable medium and adapted to be executed by a processor of a second mobile electronic device; wherein the third software application is further configured to instruct the processor of the second mobile electronic device to display instructions on a display of the secondPCT / US25 / 47512 23 September 2025 (23.09.2025)STR03FP703APCT mobile electronic device, wherein the instructions instruct a user of the second mobile electronic device to follow a route to the first location.

37. The communication system of claim 1 further including a third software application embodied in a third non-transitory computer readable medium and adapted to be executed by a processor of a second mobile electronic device; wherein the third software application is further configured to instruct the processor of the second mobile electronic device to present a snooze option to a user of the second mobile electronic device and to send a snooze message to the second software application if the user of the second mobile electronic device activates the snooze option.

Images