Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Panasonic Announces Toughbook H1 Mobile Clinical Assistant

This looks like a killer piece of hardware for healthcare. Specifications include:

  • Genuine Windows Vista® Business with Service Pack 1 (with Windows XP Tablet downgrade option)
  • Intel® Atom™ processor (1.86GHz) Z540 with 533MHz FSB, 512KB L2 cache
    1GB standard RAM configuration
  • 80 GB 1.8-inch shock mounted hard drive
  • 10.4” XGA sunlight viewable 500 NIT Dual Touch LCD screen (1024 x 768 resolution),
  • InPlay Technologies digitizer
  • Anti-reflective screen treatment
  • Integrated 2.0 megapixel auto-focus camera with dual LED lights
  • Fingerprint scanner
  • Contactless smartcard reader
  • RFID reader
  • Fully rugged MIL-STD-810F and IP54 compliant 3 foot drop approved
  • Magnesium alloy chassis
  • Sealed all-weather design
  • Rain-, spill-, dust- and vibration-resistant
  • Intel® WiFi Link 5100 802.11a/b/g/draft-n
  • Bluetooth® v2.0 + EDR
  • Integrated docking connector

Integrated options:

  • Optional integrated WWAN / Gobi™-enabled mobile broadband (EV-DO and HSPA)
  • Global position system (GPS) receiver
  • 2D barcode reader (also reads 1D barcodes)

6 hour battery life
Twin Hot-swappable batteries

3.4 lbs (with batteries)
10.4” (W) x 10.6” (H) x 1.3” - 2.3” (D)

Official H1 Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufDDOi19anQ

H1 Product Overview:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDG-1rNzizQ

H1 Cleaning:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5o5T-TVbjY

H1 Drop Test:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywXfCJtwfFY

Monday, November 3, 2008

Nursing I.T. Award Nominations Sought

Health Data Management is accepting nominations for its fourth annual Nursing Information Technology Innovation Award. The deadline for entries is Jan. 5, 2009.

The award recognizes innovation and excellence in using information technology in the field of nursing to directly improve the quality of care/patient safety and/or promote the effective use of nursing resources. The co-sponsor of the award is CARING, the nation’s largest educational and networking group for nurses interested in health care information technology.

The award will be presented to a team of nursing professionals at a health care organization (hospital, physician group practice or any other care-giving site). At least one of the primary coordinators of the I.T. project must be a nurse. The project must be ongoing.

To qualify for this award, a health care organization must submit an essay with detailed information on the nursing information technology project and the specific, measurable results of that project. The contribution of nurses to the innovative project must be clearly identified.
Judges, who will include nurses, will interview finalists by phone before determining the award recipient. The winner will be notified by January 31. The April issue of the magazine will include a story on the winning organization and runners-up.

To enter, submit a document attached to an e-mail to howard.anderson@sourcemedia.com. At the top of the document, list the following:
  • Name of organization and address
  • Description of size of organization (total physicians, total inpatient licensed beds, etc.)
  • Name of key nurse(s) involved in the project, and their roles.
  • Name of person who prepared the nomination and contact information (phone and e-mail)
  • Name of senior executive with organization who could be available to answer questions, and contact information.

Entrants should prepare an essay of up to 1,000 words answering the following three questions:

  1. What is the nursing I.T. project that is worthy of recognition? Precisely identify the technology involved.
  2. What is innovative/groundbreaking about the project?
  3. What are the measurable results/outcomes of the project? Be as specific and detailed as possible.
Examples of results can include: achieving tangible improvements in the quality of care; reducing the time nurses spend on non-care activities by automating tasks; and improving workload management through telehealth technologies and other systems.

In addition, the essay should describe the contribution of nurse(s) to the project and whether the nurse(s) was the project leader, product manager, trainer, implementer or executive sponsor.

Questions about the award should be e-mailed to howard.anderson@sourcemedia.com. More information about CARING is available at www.caringonline.org

Saturday, May 3, 2008

2008 Emergency Response Guide

The National Library of Medicine (NLM) has made the 2008 edition of the Emergency Response Guide (ERG) available for Windows Vista and Windows XP. The ERG 2008 software for Windows XP / Vista can be downloaded at: http://hazmat.dot.gov/pubs/erg/ERG_Windows_Setup.exe

Sunday, March 23, 2008

Electronic Medical Record of the Future

At the recent Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) conference there was a demonstration of the Contoso electronic medical record (EMR), a prototype created by Microsoft to show the Windows Presentation Foundation 3D features and where we are headed with patient medical charts.

See the video at: http://youtube.com/watch?v=dZWEQwzGFp4

Saturday, March 22, 2008

Motion C5 Mobile Clinical Assistant (Tablet PC) & DINAMAP®

GE Healthcare IT has announced a collaboration with Intel Corporation and Motion Computing® to join forces on a mobile computing solution designed to eliminate the manual collection of patient vital sign data. The solution incorporates the Motion C5 mobile clinical assistant (Tablet PC) into vital sign collection using Centricity Enterprise in-patient electronic medical record (EMR) software and GE Healthcare’s DINAMAP® patient monitoring devices.

See the GE Healthcare press release at: http://pressroom.gehealthcare.com/proom/internet/NewsandEvents.jsp?release_id=14025

MedGadget blog about Dinemap/Motion C5 Tablet PC at: http://www.medgadget.com/archives/2008/03/dinamap_to_marry_motion_c5_mobile_tablet.html

Cerner Care Console™

Although not specifically Tablet PC news, here is an interesting application of consumer electronics in healthcare.

Spectrum Health of Grand Rapids, Michigan has announced a strategic relationship with Cerner and Microsoft Corp. in developing the Cerner Care Console™ solution, a consumer-centric technology that empowers patients to take an active role in their care.

The solution integrates Spectrum Health’s knowledge about the patient experience with the Cerner Millennium® healthcare information technology (HIT) computing platform, and Microsoft Windows Media Center. Cerner has also incorporated the use of Xbox 360 retail consoles into this system to offer patients gaming and entertainment experiences.

Spectrum Health is currently piloting the Care Console system in one of its units at its 750-bed Butterworth Hospital in Grand Rapids.

Features of the Care Console system include:

• My Health Notes – Facilitates patient/provider communication by allowing patients to write electronic notes to their physicians with questions about their care.
• My Education – Provides patients with access to health education prescribed by their care team. Access to reliable health information encourages patients to become informed about their condition and medical decisions.
• My Care Team – Provides patients a pictorial introduction to the individuals responsible for their care and explains their roles.
• My Schedule – Presents patients with an itinerary of their specific events for the day as well as a patient-specific task list.
• My Hospital – Presents patients with information about their hospital, including lists of services and maps.
• My Opinion – Invites patients to provide real-time feedback regarding their hospital stay. This enables point-of-service adjustments to care to address patient concerns and supports rapid cycle improvement.
• My Entertainment – Enables patients to watch live TV, select movies, listen to music, and play Xbox games or play online games.

See the full Cerner press release at: http://www.cerner.com/public/NewsReleases.asp?id=27184&cid=8153

Thursday, March 20, 2008

National Library of Medicine Releases WISER for Windows

The National Library of Medicine has released WISER for Windows.

WISER (Wireless Information System for Emergency Responders) is a system designed to assist First Responders in hazardous material incidents. Developed by the National Library of Medicine, WISER provides a wide range of information on hazardous substances, including substance identification support, physical characteristics, human health information, and containment and suppression guidance.

I've used the Windows Mobile version for years. It is a great reference for nurses that are first responders or first receivers.

Download at: http://wiser.nlm.nih.gov/register.html?plat=win

Microsoft Vision of the Future of Personal Health Management

Microsoft presented their vision of personal health management in the future at the recent MIX08 conference. A ripped copy (not the greatest quality) of the video presentation is available on YouTube at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6F1u36Y-qlE

Sunday, March 2, 2008

Hugo Ortega growing Australia one UMPC at a time!

Dear Readers,

(How are you all?!?!)

It may please you all to know that I am still here, have lost none of my PASSION for UMPC and Tablet PC, and more specifically am missing you all more than ever.

It seems in the past three years I have burnt the candle at both ends and as a result have had to suffer the loss of the BLOG...or better said, the maintenance there of. While my thoughts are with all of you daily it is unrealistic for me to think I can balance a successful business, family and the UberTablet family without growing supernatural powers. It would be disrespectful to you to assume that I can, and is creating a feeling of disappointment in myself.

So here is my promise. If you can bear with the limited publications I can provide at this period what I promise is to bring you the best of me as often as I possibly can. I admire the perseverance of some of you for emailing me constantly and am humbled by that support. I promise I am with you with the same passion and smile.

The past 18-months have been particularly good to me. The UMPC and Tablet PC Wholesale Organisation I run has grown over 400% (Tegatech Australia) and I was blessed enough to travel with my wife and two children for three months (including Paris, Dubai and more) and my commitment to the UMPC platform remains steadfast. In the last 12 months alone I have been invited to speak to Heads of Major Banks, International Guests, Major Blue-chip Organisations in Mining and Medical...and much, much more. I have travelled with over 20 UMPC as hand luggage almost monthly on interstate trips and all of this to grow awareness in Australia and New Zealand; interestingly my regime looks to have no slow in pace in sight!

My latest toy is the OQO e2 64GB SSD with HSDPA and outdoor optimised display; and I must admit that it has made me the happiest Geek in the Southern Hemisphere.

I have read all your comments and in saying that would once again thank you; keep them coming as they do make a difference. SO while you wait for my next comment or video why not reflect on videos of the recent past. Talk soon!


Sunday, February 17, 2008

Microsoft Announces Amalga Family of Enterprise Health Systems

Microsoft has announced (http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2008/feb08/02-13AmalgaPR.mspx) the Amalga (formerly Azyxxi) family of Enterprise Health Systems.

Components of the Amalga family include:
  • Amalga - a unified intelligence system that provides a single point for unified access to the wealth of information present in a healthcare organization.
  • Amalga Hospital Information System (HIS) - a fully integrated, single solution hospital information system.
  • Amalga RIS/PACS - an integrated Radiology Information System (RIS) and Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS).
For more information see: http://www.microsoft.com/amalga/default.mspx

It will be interesting to see how Tablet PC technology will be integrated into these Microsoft healthcare technologies.

Very Cool Tablet PC Application From Microsoft Research

Microsoft Research has released a very cool prototype Tablet PC application. It is called InkSeine. I heard about this project several months ago; but until this week this application was only available to Microsofties. It has been called "Windows Journal on steroids". It has a new user interface specific to the Tablet PC that utilizes gestures to select menu items. It is a free download. I just downloaded the application and have started working with it.

Information and the download can be found at: http://research.microsoft.com/InkSeine/. Additional information can also be found at the InkSeine Development Team's blog at: http://community.research.microsoft.com/blogs/alpineinker/default.aspx. GottaBeMobile also has additional information at: http://www.gottabemobile.com/GBM+InkShow+InkSeine.aspx

Monday, January 14, 2008

Right USB for UMPC

The one thing I hated most about USB cables since laptops, and more recently mobile PCs were invented, was the need for such long bits of cable at the connector side. I have looked and looked for a solution to turn the cable at right angles but never felt happy with what I saw or found…until now that is.


Recently I found the “Wapy Gender” USB kit. Now I know the name is awful but the product is to die for. There are two in a pack (left and right) and both rotate their little USB port clockwise and anticlockwise. What this means is that the options are endless for mounting USB devices now and the cables can be neatly removed away from the perpendicular eye saw we are so accustom to!

SWEET!!!

My Q1U gets HSDPA

Excitedly I have just got my Q1U-V back from an engineer friend…the welding, bending, mending type of angineer, and I am happy to report that it is HSDPA enabled now!

Now for some of you this may sound like a bit of a “what tha!” but for me it is very exciting as the Samsung Q1U has never been available in Australia with the HSDPA chip. Why you might ask? Well the reason is that we have our own very very stringent set of Telecommunications Standards Downunder called the A-Tick. Not only does this A-Tick Standard have to be passed, but it seems as though without the might of one of the “big boys” behind you (Telcos) you won’t even get the A-Tick any way. The only workaround therefore is to retro fit a locally an A-Ticked modem to the Samsung after it lands in the Country…and that’s just what we did.

The modem is the Sierra mini PCI Express HSDPA modem. It works perfectly and I must admit it makes the Q1U a entirely different experience (in a good way).



Naked Q1U with HSDPA modem (Middle/Top)

Tuesday, January 1, 2008

Merry Christmas and Happy 2008

Dear uberTablet Family,





It is awesome having you guys and girls with me. I look forward to providing lots of fun (and info) in 2008 and wish the best for you, your families and loved ones.





I am pumped for an exciting year ahead of UMPC action and will do everything humanly possible to tell it "my way"! We will speak soon!

My Sydney, Australia!