How Radio Technology enhances nurse call systems

A nurse call system’s main purpose is to let a user quickly request medical assistance or support from their caregiver. While modern solutions nowadays involve many more additional bells, whistles, and accessories, this core functionality remains the most important part of the nurse call system. Enabling this communication is critical not just to the system, but to the delivery of the actual healthcare in hospitals and care homes itself. For the systems in our Courtney Thorne range, this key communication is facilitated by something known as Category 1 Radio technology.

In this article, we will delve into everything there is to know about Category 1 Radio, including the very basics of how it works, the history of its application within the healthcare industry, and the benefits of this technology in delivering quality care. Radio Frequency (RF) solutions stand as one of the biggest selling points of our systems, and are a key factor in our solutions being amongst the best in the country.

A Brief History of Category 1 Radio and its application to Healthcare

Over the years, short-range radio emerged as a particularly excellent solution for many things in the healthcare industry, such as alarms, monitoring equipment, security systems, and of course, nurse call systems. As these applications of wireless radio technology expanded, it soon became necessary for governmental bodies to establish appropriate performance requirements for these devices – in this instance, the European Telecommunications Standards Institute. 

The ETSI (European Telecommunications Standards Institute) is an independent, not-for-profit organisation that develops technical standards for telecommunications, radio and other information and communications technologies. As part of this responsibility, the ETSI develops standards for radio equipment, wireless communications, mobile networks, emergency communications, and short-range devices. These standards over time have shaped and defined how this technology operates in the medical fields, and are today what makes Category 1 Radio such a dependable solution for hospitals, care homes, and other types of medical institutions.  

What actually is Category 1 Radio Technology?

When defining what we mean by “radio technology” in a nurse call system, we are referring to the specific method through which calls are made and received when the system is in use. There are a few different ways that a call can happen when the nurse call button, switch, or wearable is activated. Through the internet in the form of IP tech, via hardwired cabling that runs through a healthcare facility, or via RF technology are the most common examples. It can be thought of more simply as an advanced walkie-talkie; the patient or resident sends out an alert on one end, effectively talking to the other end to bring a response out of the nursing team.

Following on from this, Category 1 is a type of performance classification associated with radio receivers, and more specifically, with the ETSI standards for Short Range Devices (or SRDs). What does this mean in simple terms? The classification of “Category 1” concerns any type of radio receiver that is designed specifically for demanding situations where a dependable reception is vitally important. Think a busy hospital ward, or a specialist care facility like a Dementia ward – places where the sanctity and reliability of the alert system can be the difference in life or death scenarios.  

What does Category 1 performance look like?

Category 1 Radio performance, for obvious reasons, needs to be impeccable. Reliability is key in these aforementioned environments, so the RF technology present in nurse call systems needs to include all of the following:

1. Inbuilt resistance to interference from other signals: Healthcare environments can contain lots of equipment that are producing or using radio signals; therefore, a nurse call receiver needs to reliably pick up the communication intended for it even when other radio activity is occurring nearby. For a receiver to be classified as Category 1’s, a more demanding performance requirement is required to encourage stronger design overall in this area.

2. Adjacent-channel selectivity: Slightly similar to the previous point, this refers to how effectively a radio receiver can distinguish its intended signal from another one operating on a nearby channel. Imagine having a conversation in a crowded room, rendering it difficult to hear what the other person is saying to you. A Category 1 receiver can effectively hone in on the correct speech (signal) and ignore the external chatter, making it more qualified for use in a healthcare setting.

3. Blocking performance: This concerns what happens when there is a strong, unwanted radio signal present. A powerful signal nearby can make a worse receiver less receptive to the signal it actually needs to detect, so strong blocking performance allows the receiver to function correctly in the presence of these unwanted signals. A nurse call system therefore needs the receiver to remain receptive to a patient’s call even within a radio-heavy environment.

4. Reliable reception in environments with multiple radio devices: Hospitals and care homes aren’t controlled laboratory environments; numerous wireless and electronic devices may be operating simultaneously. Category 1 receiver requirements are particularly relevant because nurse call communications have a much greater consequence if they aren’t received than other, more everyday examples.

To summarise, Category 1 receivers are designed and tested to continue identifying the signal they need amongst other radio activity – an idea that becomes particularly valuable in modern hospitals and care homes, where Wi-Fi, mobile devices, medical equipment and numerous other electronic systems are running in the background.

How does Category 1 radio function within a nurse call system?

To better understand how a Category 1 Radio technology functions within a standard nurse call system, the easiest way is to use a simple scenario. When a patient or a resident in a hospital or care home presses the call button, the following will occur:

1. The call button will trigger an alarm/call message.
2. In a wireless system, that information of this call is transmitted by radio to the nurse call infrastructure.
3. The receiver recognises and processes the communication.
4. The system then presents the call to staff — for example through nurse call accessories like display panels, pagers, or compatible mobile devices.
   1. Our Altra Care nurse call system for care homes, for example, can log calls through the Altra Touch panel while displaying/distributing them through other screens and staff devices.

Within this standard description of the typical nurse call interaction, we can see that the Category 1 Radio technology is what facilitates the sending of the call information from the point at which the call button is activated, through to the call data being received on the nurse’s side. 

The role of 869.2 MHz social-alarm frequency

This part may seem like a bit of a mouthful, but the 869.2 MHz frequency is a specific range of radio that is used specifically for alarm systems like nurse call systems. What does this mean, exactly? An easier way to think of this, is to picture the overall radio spectrum as a place of work, with multiple employees all working at different times. With all of the different types of radio equipment that exist, only some are permitted to work in particular “timeslots”, under particular rules.

In the UK, the aforementioned 869.2–869.25 MHz is a small section of the radio spectrum cordoned off specifically for things like nurse call systems. Ofcom classifies this as being something for “Reliable alarm devices” and social alarm systems, while the ETSI has a standard that covers high-reliability equipment and social alarm equipment operating at 869.200 — 869.250 MHz. Using our previous analogy, this frequency is a particular “timeslot” where only certain types of alarm systems are allowed to work.

Why is this all relevant? To take our Altra Care nurse call system once again as an example, this system uses the dedicated Category 1 European 869.2 MHz social-alarm frequency. So nurse call solutions like Altra Care are so dependably reliable, because they are operating within a spectrum of the radio that is designated specifically for these devices. This means no interference from other, similar medical devices in the vicinity, and no cutting out when the system is needed most. 

Additional mechanisms of reliability

We’ve covered some of the more technical details of how specific frequencies and regulations make Category 1 Radio technology so reliable in nurse call systems. However, frequency alone doesn’t make for a dependable nurse call system, and there are other factors at play when RF technology is being used in a system: 

1. Call acknowledgement: Simply transmitting a message via RF doesn’t necessarily prove anything regarding whether the system actually successfully received it. Call acknowledgement is a reliability feature that provides exactly this. While not technically demonstrating that the carer on the other end is actioning the call in a medical sense, call acknowledgment is an incredibly important feature in maintaining the reliability of the system, alongside the strength of Category 1 Radio.

2. Anti-collision technology: In a large care home, for instance, it is common for two residents to call for help at the same time – but if call systems share the same radio frequency, what stops them from getting in each other’s way and confusing the system? Anti-collision tech is essentially there to solve the question “what if two devices try to talk at once?”

3. Listen Before Talk: This refers to how, before a radio device transmits, it checks whether the relevant radio channel is already being used. Consider what a polite conversation normally looks like; you don’t walk into a room and immediately start shouting regardless of whether somebody else is talking. You listen first – this is essentially what Listen Before Talk technology achieves. If the channel is already occupied, the device can avoid simply transmitting over the top of another communication.

4. Fault monitoring: Depending on the particular system and device, equipment can be designed to provide information that allows the wider system to monitor its operational status or detect particular faults. The basic principle of fault monitoring is to not just only monitor the calls themselves, but to keep an eye on the health of the nurse call infrastructure itself.

To reinforce the broader point here, a reliable nurse call solution is one that benefits from a supportive architecture that is built around stable Category 1 Radio technology – not just the RF aspect in isolation.

So what are the benefits of Category 1 Radio for nurse call systems?

As we have now discussed at length, Category 1 Radio technology is an exceptionally powerful part of the toolkit provided by a nurse call system, due to its heightened reliability when compared to other technologies. This isn’t the only benefit it can provide, however, and in the table below, we will summarise all of the reasons that make Category 1-enabled nurse call systems so powerful:

Final thoughts on Category 1 Radio

Category 1 Radio technology is a medical solution that provides so much more value than what many might initially assume, and a lot of the other benefits it provides can easily go unnoticed. As a technical innovation, RF tech operates in a space that is very heavily regulated, thus subject to lots of stringent requirements that make it easy to trust and rely upon in healthcare settings.

When all of these factors are combined with other, additional innovations that can be found in modern nurse call systems, like call acknowledgement, anti-collision measures and carefully managed social alarm frequencies, this only cements Category 1 Radio even further as the premier choice for modern hospitals and care homes.

At Courtney Thorne, we have decades of experience developing innovative nurse call solutions for hospitals, care homes and other healthcare environments. If you would like to learn more about our nurse call systems and how their inbuilt radio technology could support your organisation, get in touch with the Courtney Thorne team today to discuss your requirements.

Written by

Barry Vacher

Date

29.09.26