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CASE STUDY

How Charité Enabled Secure, Mobile Medical Devices with Silex Wi-Fi Bridges 

About Charité

Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin is one of Europe’s leading university hospitals. More than 20,000 employees work across four campuses and over 100 specialized departments, caring for patients with a network of 35,000+ connected devices every day.  

Their IT division runs a massive, highly regulated infrastructure:

  • LAN & WLAN for clinical operations
  • Critical services like DNS, DHCP, and network access
  • Strict network protection and IP management requirements 

All handled by a team of only 18 experts: 10 technicians and 8 admins. 

The Challenge: Transform a Wired Legacy 

Charité wanted to untether its medical devices from wired LAN and move to a 5 GHz enterprise WLAN. That required 802.1X authentication using EAP-TLS or EAP-TTLS, mandated to protect patient data and hospital systems.  

The problem: Their current vendor’s bridge hardware couldn’t support EAP-TLS. Mobility goals were stuck behind Ethernet cables. 

The Solution: A Bridge Purpose-Built for Hospitals

Charité tested the Silex SX-BR-4600WAN ethernet-to-Wi-Fi bridge and confirmed it could authenticate to their network using hospital-issued security certificates, a must-have for compliance.  

The deployment was smooth, and clinical devices quickly gained secure wireless access, making it possible to move them freely across any Charité campus. 

Solution Evolution Over Time

Asset 1@4x-3

Charité's team adopted four generations of the Silex’s bridges to update the Wi-Fi security and performance. Silex supports Charite’s IT team with both updated hardware and updated product firmware when security requirements change.

 

A Long-Term Partnership and Technology Evolution 

As Germany’s BSI (Bundesamt für Sicherheit in der Informationstechnik) later raised security requirements from TLS 1.0 to TLS 1.2, Silex collaborated directly with Charité to provide updated firmware and hardware. That continued support enabled Charité to: 

  • Maintain compliance as regulations evolved
  • Upgrade seamlessly to newer Silex bridges over time
  • Keep medical devices mobile and online network-wide 

Today, Charité leverages the latest Silex BR-500AC with WPA3-Enterprise security for future-proof protection.  

Mobility Made Truly Mobile 

An early discovery: AC power adapters proved impractical in a hospital environment. Nurses shouldn’t have to hunt for power outlets while pushing critical equipment to patient rooms. 

Since Silex bridges operate on 5V USB power, Charité connected the bridge’s power directly to the medical device’s USB port. 

Implementation

charite-use-cases

The Silex bridge connects a Siemen’s ultrasound device
with the WLAN.		 The BR-310AC is equipped with GEH Healthcare’s
ultrasound device on a mobile cart.

 

The Result: One cart. No cables. Full freedom of movement

And no more ripped-out network jacks when a cart starts moving before the cord does.  

Clinical Impact 

  • Security: strong encryption and certificate-based authentication
  • Reliability: continuous WLAN connectivity across four campuses
  • Longevity: multi-generation bridge support protects investment
  • Reduced IT burden: fewer wired drop dependencies and repairs
  • Better workflows: staff move freely with carts and devices 

Charité now enables reliable, secure medical data communication throughout its hospitals, supporting patient care without the constraints of physical cabling.

Ready to explore the full story behind the deployment? Download the case study here.