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Arriving at the hospital is often a source of stress, especially for visually impaired patients. Wayfinding within healthcare facilities is a complex challenge that directly impacts both the quality of care and internal organization.
Today:
👉 85% of patients ask for directions
👉 30% of first-time visitors get lost
👉 15% to 20% of patients arrive late for their appointments
👉 Hospital staff spend an average of 40 hours per year giving directions
Faced with this lack of accessibility, medical staff are frequently called upon to make up for these shortcomings and reassure patients who are sometimes highly anxious upon arrival. To tackle this major challenge, we are proud to announce the launch of the Hospitonomy pilot project!
What is the Hospitonomy project?
Backed by the French government as part of the France 2030 "Tiers-Lieux d'Expérimentation" initiative (managed by the Caisse des Dépôts), Hospitonomy is a first-of-its-kind pilot program in a hospital setting.
Led by the Novavue Experimentation Hub (coordinated by Streetlab), this project aims to deploy and evaluate the Evelity wayfinding app in real-world conditions across three major healthcare facilities: the Hôpital National des 15-20, the Hôpital Fondation Adolphe de Rothschild (HFAR), and the Hôpital Sainte-Marie (VYV 3).
A single goal: Independence without the need for heavy infrastructure
Today, traditional visual signage is often inadequate for many patients and challenging for facility managers to maintain. Hospitonomy aims to provide users with independent, seamless access to care, removing the need for constant human assistance.
As a true alternative to traditional wayfinding, Evelity is a free step-by-step navigation app. It operates entirely without heavy hardware infrastructure, relying instead on Visual Positioning System (VPS) technology combined with cutting-edge inertial algorithms.
To perfectly meet real-world demands, the app is built on four core pillars:
- Simplicity: Ultra-precise geolocation technology designed to give users confidence and peace of mind.
- Inclusivity: A single, non-stigmatizing interface tailored to the specific needs and sensory abilities of each user.
- Turnkey deployment: A fully managed rollout in under 3 months, backed by expert support.
- Adaptability: An easy-to-use platform for facility managers to update routes and itineraries in real time.
A co-design approach alongside users
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Scheduled to run from July 2025 to December 2026, this project relies on the strength of a multidisciplinary consortium bringing together experts in healthcare, innovation, and digital technology:
- Okeenea Digital leads the technological development, the installation of the solution (VPS), and the technical supervision.
- Streetlab coordinates the scientific evaluation, designs the user testing protocols, and analyzes the satisfaction questionnaires.
- The Valentin Haüy Association (AVH) provides its expertise in visual impairment and assists in recruiting panels of testers.
- The partner hospitals provide their facilities as testing grounds, recruit patient testers, and involve their medical staff to gather concrete, on-the-ground feedback.
Real-world testing sessions will allow us to accurately measure the perceived gain in independence, identify any barriers to use, and continuously fine-tune the algorithms to deliver an optimal user experience.
Workshops bringing together the administrative and medical staff from each facility are planned to identify current friction points regarding wayfinding and orientation, enabling the collection of qualitative and quantitative data. The findings from these discussions will be made public upon the drafting of the pilot program's final report.
Towards the hospital of tomorrow
👉 Contact-us to talk about it with our team
