A JoongAng Ilbo reporter experiences the smart ward at Samsung Medical Center in Gangnam District, southern Seoul, on May 6. [KIM SEONG-RYONG]
Curtains open by voice command. Beds monitor breathing during sleep. An AI robot offers words of comfort before surgery. Every corner of the new smart ward at Samsung Medical Center in Gangnam District, southern Seoul, is powered by AI.
The JoongAng Ilbo toured an AI-powered hospital room on Wednesday, following the hospital's announcement of the new system on April 27.
The experience began before entering the room. As a visitor approached, a facial recognition system recognized the "patient" and opened the door automatically. The feature could increase accessibility for patients with limited arm movement or mobility.
Inside the room, a tablet sat on the hospital bed while a large monitor hung nearby. A wearable device displayed biometric information such as blood pressure, heart rate and oxygen saturation levels on the tablet in real time.
The wearable device the reporter wore showed blood pressure readings between 80 and 120, a heart rate of 80 and oxygen saturation at 100 percent, indicating healthy levels. Patients wearing the device on their wrist or finger could monitor their condition without having to repeatedly call nurses.
The bed itself was also equipped to track breathing rate, pulse and sleep quality.
A JoongAng Ilbo reporter uses a tablet at a smart ward at Samsung Medical Center in Gangnam District, southern Seoul, on May 6. [KIM SEONG-RYONG]
Nurses have to wake patients periodically to measure blood pressure and temperature in conventional hospital rooms, but not here. The wearable devices and bed sensors automatically transmit patient data to the nurses’ station in real time.
The bathroom also featured monitoring functions. The user's pulse is automatically measured when sitting on the toilet.
Radars also monitor the space for falls, one of the most common accidents in hospital rooms. The sensors can detect when a patient gets up to use the bathroom or falls down and automatically alert the medical staff.
The hospital explained that alerts are triggered only when a person remains down for more than 90 seconds to avoid mistaking movements such as bending over or cleaning for a fall.
A JoongAng Ilbo uses a heart rate monitor in a smart ward at Samsung Medical Center in Gangnam District, southern Seoul, on May 6. [KIM SEONG-RYONG]
The tablet also allowed patients to check previous test results at a glance. Patients could remotely consult with attending physicians through the tablet, call nurses and even select meals from the device.
Many of the requests and routine confirmation procedures patients go through normally inside hospital rooms have been consolidated into a single tablet system.
Voice-controlled functions also allowed patients to manage the room environment without leaving their beds. The blinds automatically opened upon the simple command, “Open the curtains,” without needing to touch the tablet.
An AI robot stood in a corner of the room. Powered by OpenAI’s GPT model, the companion robot was designed to converse with patients and provide emotional support.
A JoongAng Ilbo reporter uses a facial recognition system in a smart ward at Samsung Medical Center in Gangnam District, southern Seoul, on May 6. [KIM SEONG-RYONG]
The technology is still improving. As of now, the smart ward mainly focuses on transmitting patients’ biometric data and room conditions to medical staff.
“At the moment, the system is still at the stage of transmitting data,” said Park Kyoung-min, the head of the future hospital task force at Samsung Medical Center and a professor at the department of cardiology. “Eventually, we hope to develop the rooms into agentic AI-powered spaces capable of assessing patient conditions based on everything happening inside the hospital room.”
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
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