Abstract

The collection and disposal of medical waste, if not handled meticulously, pose a significant risk of secondary contamination to healthcare facilities and the broader community. With the high density of large healthcare institutions in Northern Taiwan, the daily volume of medical waste continues to rise, making its management increasingly critical. Effective planning and continuous monitoring of waste disposal processes have become labor-intensive tasks and a substantial challenge. This study focuses on a private hospital in Taiwan as a case study for handling various types of medical waste generated within the facility, specifically in its 30 Intensive Care Units (ICU) rooms. Currently, the cleaning staff follows a schedule to manage waste collection three times a day from patient wards. However, the waste production in ICU is variable, often not necessitating such frequent collection or encountering situations where waste bins are full but not promptly emptied. Notably, items like diapers can be recycled, and proper categorization can reduce recycling costs. To address these issues, this research aims to significantly reduce the operational costs of the ICU at a private hospital in Taiwan and improve overall waste management efficiency by developing an Internet of Things (IoT) system for the collection of diaper waste. The system employs IoT sensors to monitor real-time diaper waste levels, addressing inefficient waste scheduling. Additionally, the system includes weight sensors to measure diaper weight directly, eliminating the need for separate weighing and reducing unnecessary handling. This system also prevents non-diaper waste from being disposed of in diaper bins, ensuring correct waste categorization and reducing recycling costs. Based on the preliminary results from February 2024, nurses or medical staff no longer need to weigh each diaper individually, as this information is accessible through the database.