Case study · Japan · Tokyo · Minato-ku
The first general
hospital that speaks by voice.
Tokyo Saiseikai Central Hospital deployed NaviLens on 1 April 2023 with the operator Measurements Inc. and became the world's first general hospital (総合病院) where NaviLens codes guide the patient from the outdoor sign all the way to the restrooms.
Saiseikai Central
Tokyo · Minato-ku · leading general hospital
1 April 2023
NaviLens service launch · operated by Measurements Inc.
World's first
First general hospital (総合病院) in the world with NaviLens
42 languages
Multilingual voice on every code along the route
The client
Saiseikai
— with Measurements Inc.
Tokyo Saiseikai Central Hospital (東京都済生会中央病院) is a leading general hospital in Minato-ku, run by the social-welfare society 恩賜財団済生会, founded by order of Emperor Meiji to guarantee healthcare for the most vulnerable.
The deployment is operated by 株式会社メジャメンツ (Measurements Inc.), NaviLens' technical partner in Japan, also responsible for the Bunkyo Civic Center pilot and the country's network of hospitals and public buildings.
The service launched on 1 April 2023 and was announced on the hospital's website on the 4th. Measurements Inc. promoted it as the world's first general hospital with NaviLens in operation, as part of the Saiseikai group's Social Inclusion · Let's SINC strategy.
§ Challenge
Letting a general hospital explain every step.
- 01
Reaching the hospital without a companion
Tokyo Saiseikai Central Hospital sits surrounded by trees, very close to the Tameike-Sannō junction. For a blind or low-vision person, spotting the right sign from the pavement and orienting toward the main door or the emergency centre was almost impossible without help.
- 02
Crossing the lobby and reception
Past the glass door, the patient has to find the admissions desk, the directory of specialties and the waiting area. Printed signs and hanging boards in Japanese with minimal English are not accessible to visually impaired users or to foreign patients.
- 03
Finding restrooms and services without asking
The accessible restrooms, ticket machines and the pharmacy area are spread across several floors. Without a voice-guidance system, low-vision patients relied on staff for every routine task.
§ Solution
Codes at every clinical milestone.
The deployment covers the outdoor hospital sign, the main automatic door, the admissions desk, the waiting area and the accessible restrooms. Each code links a voice micro-instruction announcing destination and direction.
Multilingual voice in 42 languages makes the system accessible to blind and low-vision patients, and to foreign patients arriving at the hospital without Japanese.
§ Timeline
From launch to improvement plan.
- 1 April 2023
NaviLens service launch
Tokyo Saiseikai Central Hospital (東京都済生会中央病院) officially launches the NaviLens service inside the hospital on 1 April 2023, with the social-welfare society 恩賜財団済生会 and the technical support of 株式会社メジャメンツ (Measurements Inc.).
- 4 April 2023
Public announcement
The hospital publishes the official notice on its website saichu.jp announcing the rollout of the «視覚障害者の移動支援アプリ ナビレンス» (mobility support app for visually impaired people).
- World · 総合病院 category
World's first general hospital with NaviLens
Measurements Inc. and NaviLens promote the case as the world's first general hospital (総合病院) with the technology operationally installed, announced to the Japanese press via atpress.ne.jp.
- 22 Nov 2023
Saiseikai SINC editorial coverage
The Social Inclusion outlet of the Saiseikai group itself publishes the feature «“ソーシャルインクルージョン”を具現化する最先端ツール「ナビレンス」», presenting NaviLens as a leading-edge tool to materialise social inclusion at the hospital.
§ Walkthrough
From the pavement to the accessible restroom.
Access
Hospital outdoor sign
The vertical sign «東京都済生会中央病院 / TOKYO SAISEIKAI CENTRAL HOSPITAL», visible among the cherry trees on the grounds, includes the NaviLens code at the bottom, next to the label «視覚障がい者向けアプリ稼動中» (app for visually impaired people in operation). The app detects it from several metres away, letting users identify the hospital from the pavement.
Entrance
Main automatic door
Above the automatic glass door, beside the kanji and romaji sign «Tokyo Saiseikai Central Hospital», a NaviLens code guides the patient across the threshold. The voice announces entry into the lobby and points to admissions, the mask policy and the hand-sanitiser dispenser.
Reception
Admissions desk · #1116
At the wooden desk, next to the «視覚障がい者向けアプリ稼動中» sign and the white-studded tactile paving, the NaviLens code announces the admissions desk, the patient waiting area and the MyHospital app for managing the electronic ticket.
Services
Men's restroom — Gentlemen's Restroom
Beside the «男子トイレ / Gentlemen's Restroom» pictogram, a NaviLens code announces the men's restroom and, opposite, the women's. It is part of the «restroom guidance improvement plan» co-designed with visually impaired users through the Sunnybank platform.
Arrival
Mita station — platform announcement
On the blue mosaic wall of the Mita station platform (Toei Mita and Toei Asakusa lines), the sign for 東京都済生会中央病院 «出口より徒歩3分» (3 minutes' walk from the exit) carries a NaviLens code in the top-left corner. The voice guides the blind passenger from the subway itself toward the correct direction to the hospital, before even reaching the street.
§ Results
An accessible and multilingual general hospital.
Clinical autonomy
Blind patients arrive, enter and orient themselves without a companion
42 languages
Foreign patients use the same codes in their own language
Continuous improvement
Restroom improvement plan co-designed with users via Sunnybank
§ What they said
“この度、株式会社メジャメンツのサポートのもと、視覚障害者の移動を支援するシステム「ナビレンス」を導入し、4月1日より運用を開始しました。”
“総合病院カテゴリで世界初、東京都済生会中央病院に視覚障害者の移動支援アプリ「ナビレンス」を導入。”
““ソーシャルインクルージョン”を具現化する最先端ツール「ナビレンス」 — 視覚障害者の移動支援システム「ナビレンス」って何？”
“東京都済生会中央病院にて稼働中の視覚障害者向けアプリ「ナビレンス」について — トイレ案内改善第一弾完了！第二弾へ！”
§ And your centre?
Every classroom and clinic can be guided by voice.
Tell us about your centre, your journeys and your users. We’ll show you how NaviLens would make wayfinding easier.
