The scenery of healthcare is undergoing a significant transformation, driven by advancements in technology and a shift toward patient-centred care. At the forefront of this revolution is the concept of the Smart Hospital, where architecture and technology converge to create facilities that enhance patient outcomes and operational efficiency. Central to this evolution is the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI), which offers architects powerful tools for designing these advanced healthcare environments.
This article explores how AI is being leveraged in Smart Hospital design and highlights specific examples of its application.
Smart Hospital – A Definition
According to IBM, a Smarter Hospital is created through the successful fusion of physical, digital, and service design. It places user experience, operational efficiency, and improved, more sustainable, outcomes at its core to purposefully support and transform the evolution of care. (1)
Architects are at the forefront of these changes and are expected to offer practical and efficient solutions for evolving needs. One of the most powerful tools they have to leverage is Artificial Intelligence, which has become a game-changer in design and is especially useful in Smart Hospital design. This beautiful union can help optimise space layout, improve functionality, and enhance patient experiences within medical care facilities.
Designing for Efficiency and Flexibility
Google’s DeepMind technologies (2) provide numerous AI systems that can be harnessed within the Smart Hospital design process. Predictive Models, Simulation Tools, and Data Integration are existing, powerful tools for projecting patient flow patterns. These, in turn, allow for a much deeper understanding of space layout needs and optimization possibilities. By analysing the results, architects are better equipped to decide on spatial layouts and choose the most effective and strategic placement of critical care units, operating rooms, and diagnostics centres. This leads to reduced transit times for patients and staff, enhanced staff communication, and prompt responses to critical situations.
This approach not only improves operational efficiency but also enhances the overall patient experience by minimising wait times and reducing the stress associated with hospital navigation. Designing flexible and adaptable spaces that accommodate ever-changing healthcare needs is crucial to a Smart Hospital model.
Derriford Hospital in Plymouth, UK (3) is among the pioneers in the field and one of the very first in healthcare to introduce a VR tool as a presentation means to help staff better understand the new emergency department redevelopment but also to get invaluable feedback for architects to ensure the space meets operational needs. As Stuart Windsor, Future Hospitals Director mentioned in his interview for Plymouth Live, VR serves as a means for “refining the design”.
Although AI and VR are distinct technologies, the potential for VR to be significantly enhanced with the help of AI represents an important step toward a more promising future, and introducing it into the healthcare system is a pivotal moment in time.
Incorporating specialised training rooms equipped with AR and VR technology for staff education, and surgical simulation exercises within the Smart Hospital design becomes a must. Architects can fully leverage the tools available in their field by implementing them within their designs. They can create interactive spaces where patients benefit from VR technology for relaxation, therapy, or even educational purposes. The application possibilities are vast.
Enhancing Patient-Centric Design
Per IBM’s definition (1), a Smarter Hospital is a space that places “user experience” at the top of the priority list. Therefore, one understands that the environment must offer optimal patient-friendly areas that will improve the quality of life throughout the patient’s hospital stay.
But what do these spaces look like, and what are the specific design elements that make a space “welcoming”, “soothing”, and “rehabilitative” as opposed to one likely to induce anxiety and distress?
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Emotional AI
MIT Media Lab (4) has explored the use of AI in studying the emotional impact of light and colour through various projects. Their research includes developing AI algorithms that analyse facial expressions and physiological responses to different colour and light conditions. This data helps architects understand how specific colour schemes and lighting setups can evoke particular emotional responses and thus make conscious decisions when designing a hospital space, leading to spacious single-patient rooms with natural light and quiet zones, which have been shown to significantly enhance patient comfort and recovery times. These are especially useful in mental health facilities, where a calming room can be a direct influence on anxiety management.
Neuro-design (7) is an emerging field of design practice that applies insights obtained from neuroscience and cognitive psychology to understanding how people respond to specific design elements. Exploring the field offers possibilities for further hospital environment adaptability, individualization, and bespoke design.
Companies such as Google, Apple, and Samsung are already applying these findings to their design fields. Samsung’s tablets are using sounds and animation to make them more attractive to users, while Apple uses specific fonts to make them more “user-friendly”.
The same principle applies to architectural design. Research in neuro-design shows that certain environmental factors can have a profound impact on stress levels. By incorporating calming design elements, such as biophilic design, a Smart Hospital can create a more healing environment that supports faster patient recovery. The application of neuro-design can also optimise lighting and acoustics to create a more soothing atmosphere. For instance, dynamic lighting systems that adjust based on the time of day and patient needs can mimic natural light patterns, while soundscapes designed to minimise noise and create a peaceful ambiance can enhance patient comfort.
One prominent example is Fiona Stanley Hospital in Perth, Australia (8). Experts in the field consider it to be one of the few examples of a Smart Hospital in the Indian Ocean region.
In addition to implementing smart building technologies and digital integration, the hospital prioritised patient-centric design focusing on creating healing environments with vast green vistas, natural sunlight, and serene surroundings. The impact of these actions has been remarkable, with one of the notable achievements being the decrease in patient stay durations which are now 20% below the national average.
This building is a prime example of how critical the aesthetics of the environment are in shaping patient well-being and affecting recovery times. Collaborating with Emotional AI becomes key to understanding human emotional responses to visual, audio, and tactile stimuli. Yes, there exist some concerning thoughts on letting AI be too close to The Human, however with responsible actions, creators may obtain results that significantly outweigh the flaws.
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Generative Design Solutions
Generative Design is another option for architects to explore within the design thinking process. It allows architects to explore a wide range of design possibilities in a short amount of time, thus enabling better decisions in choosing the most optimal layout for easy reconfigurability based on patient need and distress level. Generative Design is a quick way for architects to explore innovative, data-driven approaches to creating healthcare environments. The result is more efficient, adaptable, and patient-centred hospital spaces that can be quickly tailored for diverse needs while maximising resource use.
Smart Hospital Technologies and the Architect
In addition to incorporating AI-driven solutions into the design process, architects are essential in the integration of smart technologies by ensuring that these advanced systems are seamlessly incorporated into the architectural framework. They are directly responsible for the creation of spaces able to accommodate such technologies as IoT devices, RTLS systems, and smart environmental controls but also for creating spaces able to enhance these systems’ capabilities.
A Smart Hospital entitles a multifaceted series of variables such as adaptable spaces for wearable tech, flexible consultation areas with integrated video conferencing systems; advanced surgical suits equipped with built-in infrastructure for robotic systems; patient rooms outfitted with smart beds and integrated control systems for lighting and climate; specific control and data hubs designed to handle large volumes of data; pharmacy areas that can automatically dispense medicines, which means optimal architectural design for ease of access and control.
The above mentioned is just a modest compilation of components that make up a Smart Hospital building. The reality is much broader and complex, and entitles a deep understanding but above all, commitment for collaboration with professionals from all fields involved in the creation of what we understand a Smart Hospital to be.
The architect must emphasise that this is a joint effort between designers, technologists, and healthcare providers, that will ultimately result in better, more efficient layouts, system integration able to improve patient care and overall facility performance.
Forward-looking
As technology continues to evolve, hospitals increasingly embrace data-driven solutions, AI, and innovations, making us promise that the future of healthcare is up and coming. Spaces will continue to evolve and will become highly adaptive, enhancing user experience and patient care. Future designs will likely become very dynamic, interactive, and responsive to patient needs in real-time, able to utilise predictive analysis to optimise workflows, elements still in development currently. Sustainable solutions and materials will become standard, while advanced systems for management shall run entire operational hubs within the facility. Smart Hospitals will become friendly premises so intelligent and adaptive that will be able to directly influence a patient’s wellbeing and recovery period.
We all are aware that the human brain is an intricate element that has the potential to influence the state of being of the individual. What we are struggling to understand is that emotions, distress, and anxiety might potentially shorten a person’s life. Therefore, keeping it safe and well tended to is crucial. A Smart Hospital isn’t simply about smart technology implementations, a Smart Hospital is an intelligent building that becomes this serene environment where the human brain feels shielded, allowing it to relax and heal. By designing with this in mind, architects hold one of the most powerful tools for healthcare in general and that is self-healing.
Architects must design facilities so composed and idyllic that healing has no other option but to occur.
References:
- IBM (2015). A Blueprint for Smarter Hospital Design. [online] IBM. Available at: https://www.ibm.com/resources/guides/smarter-hospital-blueprint/#:~:text=A%20smarter%20hospital%20is%20created%20through%20the%20successful (Accessed 28 July 2024).
- Google DeepMind. (n.d.). Technologies. [online] Available at: https://deepmind.google/technologies/. (Accessed 28 July 2024)
- Ball, E. (2022). New Derriford Hospital plans explored in virtual reality. [online] Plymouth Live. Available at: https://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/news/plymouth-news/derriford-hospitals-new-150m-redevelopment-7557540 (Accessed 28 July 2024).
- Somers, M. (2019). Emotion AI, explained | MIT Sloan. [online] MIT Sloan. Available at: https://mitsloan.mit.edu/ideas-made-to-matter/emotion-ai-explained. (Accessed 28 July 2024)
- Labbé, A. (2022). Council Post: Emotion AI: Why It’s The Future Of Digital Health. [online] Forbes. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2022/11/23/emotion-ai-why-its-the-future-of-digital-health/. (Accessed 28 July 2024)
- Predin, J.M. (n.d.). AI Empathy: Emotional AI Is Redefining Interactions In The Digital Age. [online] Forbes. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/josipamajic/2024/01/30/ai-empathy-emotional-ai-is-redefining-interactions-in-the-digital-age/. (Accessed 28 July 2024)
- dodonut.com. (n.d.). Neurodesign. Using Neuroscience for Better UX Design | Dodonut. [online] Available at: https://dodonut.com/blog/neurodesign-using-neuroscience-for-better-ux-design/ (Accessed 28 July 2024).
- www.esmagazine.com. (n.d.). Australian hospital takes ‘smart’ approach to BAS, patient care | 2016-07-12 | Engineered Systems Magazine. [online] Available at: https://www.esmagazine.com/articles/97826-australian-hospital-takes-smart-approach-to-bas-patient-care (Accessed 28 July 2024).
- (2015). IBM’s vision for a Smarter Hospital. [Photograph].
- (2022). Virtual Reality Dome at Derriford Hospital. [Photograph].
- Bennetts, P. (2014). Main Hospital Building. [Photograph]
- Bennetts, P. (2014). The Main Building is viewed from the State Rehabilitation Center. [Photograph].
- Bennetts, P. (2014). Patient Wards and the landscape view below. [Photograph].
- Cotruta, C. (2024). Smart Hospital. [AI generated image]
- Cotruta, C. (2024). Smart Hospital. [AI generated image]
- Cotruta, C. (2024). Forward-looking. [AI generated image]
