Newest-generation Bluetooth medical devices can disrupt healthcare
At its last Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple
released several new enhancements to its iOS mobile device operating system.
The new release included new feature called iBeacon, an indoor
positioning system that will have significant uses in many industries, such as
retail and healthcare. iBeacon runs on low-powered, low-cost
transmitters that alert iOS 7 devices to their presence. These devices
communicate using Bluetooth 4.0, also known as Bluetooth Low Energy
(BLE).
Bluetooth Low Energy could
open the door for several valuable healthcare use cases.
There are several creative uses where Bluetooth
medical devices could fit in the healthcare marketplace. The retail industry
can also leverage iBeacon to notify
in-store customers of product information and specials when they near the tags
embedded in some of their shelves. The technology can also provide a way for
customers to navigate inside the store and interact with messaging ties to
certain merchandise sections.
Another use of this is within museums, where
visitors can use their smartphones to learn detailed information about the
different exhibits as they approach them.
Within healthcare, we have seen a significant use of
location technologies to keep tabs on devices, assets and patients.
Applications from asset and bed management to patient tracking utilize active
and passive radio-frequency identification, as well as Wi-Fi, to locate
property and people. These cases turn out to be beneficial uses of the
technology.
In the past, real-time location system (RTLS)
products initially required tablets and laptops or stations with special
readers or scanners to identify any tags they came in contact with. This
limited the possibility of interacting with mobile devices such as smartphones.
Near-field communication, which leverages mobile
devices such as Android phones that have built-in NFC readers and transmitters,
allows smartphones to exchange information with NFC tags at close range by
simply scanning the tags. However, healthcare has yet to embrace this
technology in large numbers. The use of iBeacon can bridge the gap. In theory,
since it's on board iPhones, BLE could open the door for several valuable
healthcare use cases:
Medical devices: In most current RTLS implementations, we
find end users, whether they are bioengineers or nurses, can locate devices
within their facilities or at least have some visibility of where the device
is. However, if there is more than one device in that same location, users must
perform the extra verification step of physically reviewing the serial number
and confirming it's the same device.
Hospital indoor navigation systems: Since the introduction of
GPS in smartphones, many people use their mobile phones to help find their way
to a destination. However, there has not been a large implementation of indoor
navigation systems. With the use of Bluetooth medical devices containing BLE
technology and with a significant number of mobile devices supporting this
technology, indoor navigation will become possible. Patients and hospital
visitors can use their phones to get assistance to their destination. By
offering this functionality, patients will be pleased to find that they can
find their way within the hospital facility, thus improving their satisfaction.
Event triggers: An RTLS offers automation capabilities that
help streamline many clinical processes. Some of the workflows can trigger
actions when specific assets or individuals enter the facility or cross into
specific areas. Bluetooth Low Energy can enable much-improved functionality. iBeacon can assist hospital staff via
their mobile phone when they are near specific devices or tags. Another event
trigger that may prove valuable to clinicians is automatic logon. For example,
the system can authenticate a user and automatically log them on to EHR systems
when they near a workstation enabled via BLE. This would give providers a much
smoother, quicker method to automatically log on to certain systems by their
simply being a foot away from the tag or station. Similarly, a workstation can
automatically lock its session when a provider moves away from it.
Interactive and contextual clinical content: Mobile
health continues to introduce new and innovative ways to help health
organizations engage patients. Hospitals are evaluating different tools that
can enable patients, keep them connected to their healthcare providers and
improve outcomes. With BLE, patients can use their smartphones or mobile
devices to have an interactive experience around the hospital and receive
detailed information about their care, or even automate check-in at an imaging
center. Another use for Bluetooth medical devices would be to inform patients
in the waiting room about the latest and greatest technological advancement
that the hospital offers, based on the specific areas or specialists that the
patients visit.
While RTLS might have required hardware or software
add-ons in order to enable mobile devices to scan and detect tags, technology
such as BLE has been included as part of a built-in, industry-standard
technology. Mobile device manufacturers are offering the capability to leverage
Bluetooth 4.0 to detect and interact with small, inexpensive tags. Retailers
may be one of the first early adopters of BLE, due to its immense benefit to
drive customized shopping experiences to shoppers while collecting data on how
customers navigate their stores. However, BLE clearly has all the ingredients
to make for a very disruptive technology for many markets, including
healthcare. Costs might still be a little high for the individual BLE devices,
but over time these prices will go down.
Reda Chouffani is vice president of development at
Biz Technology Solutions Inc., which provides software design, development and
deployment services for the healthcare industry. Let us know what you think
about the story; email editor@searchhealthit.com
or contact @SearchHealthIT
on Twitter.
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