With Thanksgiving now settled, it would be easy to think that the healthcare technology would take it easy for a while to recover from its Thanksgiving in relative peace. But that wasn't to be the case, as plenty of news emerged in the sector, and that means it's time to run down all the biggest events in the healthcare technology sector with our week in review!
First, we looked at MedRisk, who recently made a move to Dell Services to provide support for a major infrastructure expansion over the next 10 years. Dell's assistance will provide new solutions to improve the quality of care and allow MedRisk to better focus on their primary goal: the treatment of injured workers and getting them back to work sooner. With a client roster that includes insurance carriers, state funds, self-insured employers and plenty of others, it's clear that this is a field that has a lot of opportunity found within.
Next came a closer look at the Robotic Office Diagnostic Assistant, or Roda, now service at the St. Charles Bend Hospital in Oregon. Roda allows physicians to stage a variety of procedures to facilitate diagnoses remotely, allowing patients to be examined by trained specialists, even when there are none in the patient's immediate area. The Roda system can serve as a remote eye exam, a remote stethoscope and several other key functions to make finding out what's wrong a whole lot easier.
Then came an unexpected bit of news around a device that's been around for years – the humble thermometer. Used by parents for years to get a quick check of a tot's health, the thermometer is about to get a bit of a boost thanks to the smartphone. This new style of thermometer will be able to read infrared radiation given off by the body by holding the phone's camera an inch from the temple. Thermal cameras aren't exactly new, as anyone who's watched a ghost hunting show on television can attest, but their connection to smartphones and healthcare is much more unique.
Samsung brought in our next bit of news with its announcement of the addition of Samsung Health & Medical Equipment to Samsung Electronics America. Samsung Health & Medical Equipment looks to combine Samsung's experience in the technology sector with the growing field of health care. They made a particularly big debut as well, exhibiting a variety of products at the RSNA 2012 event at Chicago's McCormick Place from November 25 through 29.
Finally, we saw the newest iPad app from CardioNet, an app that allows for instant cardiac monitoring reports via an online connection. This in turn will provide extra help in diagnostic efforts, and save valuable time in the event that a cardiac issue comes into play. With the iPad app, patients wear a series of small sensors which feed information back to the app, which then provide reports that may well save lives thanks to rapid response.
Those were the high points in the week that was in healthcare technology. With big names getting involved in the industry and old standbys getting a thorough revamping, there's always plenty going on. Our global online community is constantly on the lookout for new developments to bring your way, so be sure to join us back here next week for more news in the healthcare technology field, and every weekend for our week in review roundup!
