IoT Nurse Call Button System using ESP32

In hospital wards, patients need a fast, reliable way to reach nurses, and nurses need to know exactly which bed is calling. Wired call-bell systems are expensive to retrofit into old buildings and give no record of how long a call waited — yet delayed response to a patient call is a genuine patient-safety concern. A wireless IoT call system solves both problems: every bed gets a simple button, the central console identifies the calling bed instantly, and call-to-response times are logged for shift review. This project builds that system at demonstration scale with ESP32 nodes — wireless alerting, central monitoring, acknowledgement workflow and logging — in a form students can extend toward real ward requirements.

1. The patient presses the bedside call button; the ESP32 wakes and transmits its configured bed ID.
2. The message travels over Wi-Fi to the central unit (MQTT on the local network, or ESP-NOW link).
3. The console LCD adds the bed to the active-call queue and the buzzer sounds.
4. The nurse presses acknowledge on the console; the bedside lamp switches to the "nurse on the way" state.
5. Both timestamps are written to the response log, viewable on the dashboard.
6. Pressing cancel at the bedside clears the call; unacknowledged calls re-alert after the escalation timeout.

Tech stack:

• ESP32-WROOM-32 nodes (bedside units + central console)
• Wi-Fi with MQTT (local broker) or ESP-NOW link
• 16×2 LCD with I2C backpack on console
• Buzzer and beacon lamp for alerts
• Single-file HTML/CSS/JS dashboard served by central ESP32
• Arduino IDE firmware
• USB 5 V power; battery option for bedside units

• [Wireless bedside call units] Battery/USB-powered ESP32 button units — one per bed — with a large illuminated call button and a cancel button.
• [Bed-number identification] Each unit carries a configured bed ID, so the console and dashboard show exactly which bed is calling.
• [Nurse-station console] Central ESP32 receiver with 16×2 LCD listing active calls in order, plus a buzzer and beacon lamp.
• [Acknowledgement workflow] The nurse acknowledges a call at the console (or from the dashboard); the bedside unit's lamp changes state to confirm.
• [Response-time logging] Call-raised and acknowledged timestamps are logged per bed for shift-level review.
• [Local Wi-Fi dashboard] A single-page web dashboard on the central unit shows live bed status without any cloud account.
• [Escalation timer] Calls unacknowledged beyond a configurable time re-alert with a distinct tone (configurable).

• Central nurse-station console (ESP32, LCD, buzzer, beacon)
• 2–4 wireless bedside call button units
• Complete firmware (nodes + console + dashboard)
• Circuit and wiring documentation
• Project report PDF (architecture, protocol, testing procedure, limitations)
• PPT presentation for final review
• Viva Q&A preparation document (ESP32, MQTT/ESP-NOW, IoT alerting)
• Setup and demonstration guide

• Academic prototype only — not certified medical equipment and not for life-critical or emergency use; the disclaimer ships in the report and must stay in any presentation of the work.
• Alert delivery depends on the local Wi-Fi environment; dead zones and router outages affect it.
• Battery-powered bedside units need regular charging; the dashboard shows a low-battery flag but cannot prevent a flat battery.
• Response-time logs are only as disciplined as the acknowledgement workflow — skipped acknowledgements skew the data.
• No encryption beyond standard Wi-Fi security; patient-data handling is the deployer's responsibility.