Capstone team uses AI to help clinicians locate supplies in seconds

Startup sponsor Intelligent Clinical Systems asked Interdisciplinary Capstone Team 26050 to develop an artificial intelligence-powered retrieval system that reimagines hospital supply rooms as intelligent, high-performance clinical hubs.

“More than 5 million U.S. nurses regularly face delays accessing essential equipment in acute-care supply rooms, where every second matters,” said Robert Schmid, nurse and CEO of Intelligent Clinical Systems.

Even short delays in finding supplies can impact patient outcomes, Schmid added.

Supply rooms are often chaotic, memory-driven “hunt-and-peck” zones that slow down care, drain focus and fuel clinician burnout.

A solution for nurses, patients

Team 26050 is developing software that runs on a low-power microcontroller – a tiny computer chip – to be mounted on a supply rack and functions without an internet connection. The system processes voice commands and triggers LED lights, illuminating the requested item.

“We're building a system that allows clinicians to walk into the room, say which items they need, and it will both visually and through audio, ping the clinician and show them in under 10 seconds where the items are,” said Yona Kleinerman, a biomedical engineering major and team lead.

The device runs on a streamlined AI model that uses voice recognition. While adding an extra layer of technical challenge, the streamlined approach increases processing speed for requests.

The team also integrated Bluetooth Low Energy Mesh, which allows supply racks to communicate with each other, and SQLite, a lightweight database management system that stores data in a single file on a local disk.

“They are using some very cutting-edge technologies on this device,” Schmid said.

Startup celebrates creative freedom

Kleinerman was eager to join a project that integrated AI with hardware and software. He brought startup experience to the project from Lynnapse, his software company that uses an AI model to match students with research labs on college campuses, which launched in October 2025. Kleinerman welcomed the chance to build on his prior AI experience.

“Designing a system from scratch that prioritizes an exceptional user experience is rewarding," he said.

Schmid encouraged each student to think creatively and devise unique solutions as Craig M. Berge Design Day approaches.

“Working with Robert Schmid has been awesome. He allows us to use our creativity,” Kleinerman said. “He came into the project having an idea of what he wanted but always put us in the driver's seat.”

The team is developing and testing the system's components before presenting their efforts at Design Day in May 2026.

“The progress the team is making tells me in no uncertain terms that they are putting all their heart and hard work into making sure that the delivery of the product is going to be amazing,” Schmid said.