Chip manufacturer Intel Corporation has gained FDA approval for its Health Guide PHS6000 electronic device that allows patients with chronic conditions to be monitored remotely and relevant information to pass between patients and their health professionals without the patient having to visit the hospital or talk to them on the phone. This device allows patients to stay in touch with their physicians and receive the necessary information for dealing with their conditions.
The new tool includes a small touch-screen PC running Windows XP and a web portal that helps connect patients and doctors. The device can also be connected to a number of the most commonly used medical devices which monitor a patient’s vitals signs such as blood-pressure monitors, glucose meters, pulse oximeters, peak flow meters and weight scales. All this information can be relayed via the internet to caregivers, who can monitor the patient’s state of health and provide education and management information as needed.
“We’re focusing on chronic conditions and that’s approaching a billion patients. The system will enable those people to connect with their caregivers from home,” Louis Burns, vice president and general manager of Intel’s Digital Health Group, told Reuters in a telephone interview.
The Health Guide can connect with certain models of wired and wireless equipment, such as blood pressure monitors, weight scales, glucose meters, pulse oximeters, and peak flow meters. The device stores and displays the data it collects on a touch screen and sends it to a secure host server, where it can be viewed by the health care professional.
Research and experiments involving the new device were carried in the United States and the United Kingdom. The company is still doing pilot studies. Initial results suggest the new device will save money besides allowing the elderly “to be active participants in what’s going on with their health.”
"We're focusing on chronic conditions and that's approaching a billion patients. The system will enable those people to connect with their caregivers from home," Louis Burns, vice president and general manager of Intel's Digital Health Group, said in a telephone interview.
Intel has conducted pilot tests of the system and will start broader testing in the third quarter, with availability in the U.S. and the U.K. expected late this year or early in 2009. Pricing has not been set, Mr. Burns said.
The goal is to help medical and insurance companies save money by shifting more health-care chores associated with an aging population to homes and out of hospitals, Mr. Burns added.
Intel, the world’s biggest computer chip maker, is expected to launch Health Guide during the latter part of the year or early 2009.
Source:
reuters.com
WALL STREET JOURNAL Staff Report
efluxmedia.com
| 
| 90 : vote(s) so far
| Cast your vote: