The idea to combine 3 new technologies to develop a best-in-class location sensor came about when a leading electronics engineer sat down for coffee in 2016 with a hospital head of operations. They discussed the current Real-Time Location Sensing (RTLS) technology and remote patient sensor technologies being deployed in hospitals and were sure there is a better way to do it.
Together, the founders explored with potential customers in hospitals, other healthcare settings and homecare and discussed with them what would be most helpful for improving patient care and staff experience. Through these conversations, customers highlighted the limitations of the current systems and what more could be done if a better sensing system were available.
The company was founded in 2017. The name was chosen as it exemplifies both the purpose and the approach of the company. Nodens is the Celtic god of searching and healing*. The approach we have taken involves a variable number (N) of sensors or nodes in a network.
NodeNs developed its first prototype sensors in September 2017 and has worked with suppliers to refine and improve the performance of the core sensor products. These provide location and detection of movement at the sub-millimetre level. When combined with our proprietary algorithms, the sensors enable us to detect objects, identify people and moving objects, detect relevant clinical information (e.g. breathing, heart rate, patient falls/immobility) and gather environmental data (e.g. Temperature).
NodeNs is currently initiating research projects to use Machine Learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to train its systems to improve the precision of RTLS and interpret the types and purpose of objects. In addition the team is continuing to develop the product for market launch in 2019.
* The name Nodens probably derives from a Celtic stem *noudont- or *noudent-, which J. R. R. Tolkien suggested was related to a Germanic root *neut- meaning “acquire, have the use of”, and the celtic deity is associated with the sea, searches and healing.