Hundreds of clients. Operating 24/7. IT that lasts: openthinclient in hospital operations
🚧 Initial situation and challenges
With a steadily growing number of patients and high demands on availability, data protection, and efficiency, the University Hospital Essen faced several challenges in its IT infrastructure. In particular, the management and maintenance of thin clients, as well as the integration of new software components, required flexible, future-proof solutions.
• „Outdated“ IGEL ThinClients that could no longer be updated
• High demands on data security,
availability and system stability
• Complex network infrastructure with many buildings
• Need for uniform central management and quick exchange options in case of hardware defects
• Need to integrate authentication methods such as smart card login and 2-factor authentication
Implementation with openthinclient
The first contact between the University Hospital Essen and openthinclient occurred in 2010 at the CEBIT trade fair. Representatives from both sides got talking, including about the challenges with existing thin client systems that could no longer be updated to new software versions. The actual decision for openthinclient was made shortly thereafter, as part of a successful test with existing IGEL hardware. Since then, openthinclient has been consistently established and further developed as the central platform for thin client operations at UK Essen.
Solution path and implementation steps:
• Targeted test run with existing IGEL clients
• Successful use of the current Citrix ICA client
Sourcing new openthinclient hardware
with integrated fibre network card (FTTD – Fibre to the Desk)
• Integration of a Single Sign-On solution (Evidian)
• Productive operation in a real-time environment (24/7),
amongst other places, on wards, in patient admissions and in laboratory areas
Technical requirements
The IT infrastructure of UK Essen requires a solution that
is stable, secure, and easy to administer. openthinclient fulfils
these requirements through central management, network boot
for PXE and a hardware-independent system architecture.
New devices should be used productively in the shortest possible time.
can – entirely without manual on-site configuration.
Fibre optic connections (FO) to the workstation
for potential-free, interference-resistant connections
• PXE-Boot, no local software installation required.
This means that in the event of hardware theft, no
Patient data would leave the house
• Smartcard login SSO
• Citrix, KIS-System Medico (CompuGroup Medical)
• SHA, CATO, RIS, PACS, Labour Software, Intranet, Microsoft Office, SAP
• Option to quickly swap faulty devices without re-
Installation or configuration
Conclusion and feedback
openthinclient has been an integral part of the IT infrastructure since 2010 of the
University Hospital Essen – stable, secure, and low-maintenance. The solution has proven itself, particularly in 24/7 areas such as wards, sterile supply departments, or patient admission.
A big advantage: nothing is installed on the clients.
Disruptions or failures? Almost none.
„Most thin clients are in use 24/7. If a device fails, the responsible service employee takes a new device from storage, plugs in the cables for the monitor, keyboard, mouse, and network, and finally enters the MAC address of the new TC in the open.thinclient manager and DHCP. After the device boots up, the employee on the ward can then insert the smart card into the reader as usual and thus continue working within a few minutes.“
„openthinclient has proven to be an extremely reliable solution at UK Essen over the years. Throughout its entire deployment period, there have been virtually no disruptions or failures that have impacted the hospital's operations. This is intended to remain the case in the future...“
Alexandra Emmerich, IT Systems Engineering
University Hospital since 1963
Today's University Hospital began its work in 1909 as the „Municipal Hospital“ with four clinics. Since then, the UK Essen has constantly expanded, developed, and gained university status in 1963. As a maximum care hospital, the UK Essen is now the largest single-site university hospital in the Ruhr region and therefore the „Hospital of the Ruhr Metropolis“. With 1,300 beds and over 8,000 employees, the UK Essen treats around 55,000 inpatients and approximately 300,000 outpatients annually. With its many state-of-the-art clinics and other buildings, the University Hospital is a small city within the city.
