Motion, Intel Create Medical Tablet PC

By NewsFactor Network | February 21, 2007

Intel and Motion Computing have developed a new tablet PC specifically for healthcare workers, with built-in protections against harsh chemicals and frequent drops. The C5 tablet is priced at $2,199 and has been dubbed a “mobile clinical assistant,” particularly geared toward hospital environments.

The device was first announced last September at Intel’s Developer Forum, and now will get its first real-world test run with nurses at the University of California Medical Center in San Francisco.

In addition to giving the nurses more flexibility in terms of being able to access information while they make their rounds, the C5 will have direct connections to medical equipment and will be able to record information such as blood pressure or pulse rates.

Streamlined Process

Many nurses and doctors already use handheld devices, such as PDAs or tablet PCs, to record patient information as they move from room to room in a hospital. But often they need to download the data captured on those devices to laptops or desktops several times each day.

Many hospitals have created a system that depends on laptops that are placed on carts. Nurses upload data to the notebooks, and doctors can go to the carts when they need to look up information.

Although the system is much more efficient than the traditional way of recording information, which depends on paper, it still requires more time than necessary, Intel believes. Nurses who are fatigued or pressed for time, for example, might introduce transcription errors or not download the data as frequently as they ought.

By connecting the C5 directly to machines that record data, these transcription errors can eliminated and the download process can happen automatically. Intel maintains that the system will allow nurses to spend more time with patients because they will not need to leave a room just to download data to…

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