Altra Launch

We are pleased to officially announce the arrival of our new Nurse Call System, the ‘Altra’ Range. Building on our 40 year track record in the healthcare industry, we have developed an entirely new software architecture, utilising smart mobile technology to provide a wireless system that combines proven radio frequency technology with Bluetooth and WiFi.

Features of the new Altra Range

We are so confident that the Altra Range offers the ultimate in wireless nurse call capability and reliability that we’re offering a three year warranty as standard with all systems.

In addition to traditional call buttons (Altra Call), pull cords (Altra Pull) and bathroom/toilet pull cords (Altra Assist), our range will also include wireless pressure mats and floor sensors as well as the ‘Altra Wear’ pendant that can be worn on residents’ and patients’ wrists or carried on a lanyard around their neck for complete freedom of movement within the environment.

The wireless Altra Wear pendant has been designed to enable residents and patients to call for assistance and ensure that staff are automatically alerted in the event of a fall.  The pendant combines multiple sensors and a digital microphone to detect a fall and send a location signal to the touch screen at the nurses’ station, so that help can arrive quickly, even if the resident or patient is unable to raise the alarm.

Our touch screen unit ‘Altra Touch’ collects call data, response times and call duration information to aid with management and planning of staffing levels and can generate reports to provide complete accountability and evidencing enabling an efficient way of working.

Our new system also includes the Altra MiniTouch unit, a smaller wall-mountable touch screen display that can be located in communal areas to provide call alerts and location information for staff without requiring them to return to consult the Altra Touch.

The system also offers ‘Altra Light’, a stylish call light that can be mounted outside residents’ or patients’ rooms to provide an at-a-glance indication of calls made from the corridor.

How was the new Altra Range developed?

The new system has been designed in-house by our team of software engineers, who have used extensive research that has been carried out in the healthcare sector. The system uses the dedicated European 869.2MHz social alarms frequency to reduce interference, along with ‘listen before talk’ anti-collision technology to ensure absolute reliability of call signal with a dedicated WiFi network integrated within the system to provide robust connectivity without using any of the care home’s or hospitals bandwidth.

Courtney Thorne’s Managing Director, Graham Vickrage has said:

“Wireless Nurse Call Systems offer by far the greatest flexibility for the healthcare sector with fast and simple installation that involves no hardwiring or disruption to residents or patients. Our approach in developing Altra has been to combine reliability with enhanced connectivity and capability, enabling customers to select a bespoke specification that meets their needs. Altra can already be integrated with a DECT telephone system and new elements can be added on a ‘plug and play’ basis with full android and iOS device integration to follow within the year.”

Designed for ease of use by both staff and residents or patients, the Altra Health and Altra Care systems have also been developed to deliver financial advantages for care homes and hospitals, offering savings of up to 40 per cent when compared to hard wired alternatives.

“We’re confident that the healthcare industry will love the Altra Range and it having a three year warranty as standard,” Graham continues. “Altra is built on a completely unique, proprietary software platform and we believe that there is nothing else available that offers this level of performance.”

Written by

Dave Hewitt

Date

20.07.16