Feasibility and Utility of Wearable Bluetooth and RFID Sensors to Measure Care Interactions.

This article evaluates the feasibility of using two commercially available wearable sensor systems—EMBC02 (Bluetooth-based) and OpenBeacon (radio frequency identification, RFID-based)—to measure care interactions in simulated healthcare settings. Tested in a nursing simulation laboratory, OpenBeacon demonstrated higher usability, medium to high accuracy, and better validity for detecting face-to-face interpersonal proximity, which is closely related to meaningful care interactions. In contrast, EMBC02 showed lower accuracy and precision, with limitations such as missing data and less flexible settings, though its widespread Bluetooth technology may offer cost and accessibility advantages. The study highlights the potential of combining Bluetooth and RFID sensors to enhance measurement of care interactions and underscores the value of simulation laboratories for testing health technologies before clinical implementation.