Color PDAs for Wireless LANs? 34
David Macfarlan asks: "My father owns a small medical practice and has always desired to get information to himself and his patients rapidly. With recent advancements of 802.11b and powerful Pocket PC's he's developed an itch for information-on-demand through a wireless handheld (preferrably color) while he is in the examination room. A database for the knowledge he's looking to access already exists, and can be queried via any browser. He has approached me on implimenting a system of reliable, fast PDA's which could deliver a browser-based wireless access (within 100 feet) of this system. Is there anyone who has experience with the PPC's, and could offer any suggestions as to which is best suited to such an application?"
ViewSonic's Airpanel (Score:3, Informative)
[viewsonic.com] [viewsonic.com]
Re:ViewSonic's Airpanel (Score:3, Insightful)
I've used ViewSonic's Viewpad 100 and 1000. The 1000 is sweet, since it is basically a PC in tablet form. Windows 2000 runs on it, and it is quick enough for most apps (600MHz Celeron I believe). The Viewpad 100 is sort of like an iPaq in tablet form, but it doesnt run PocketPC OS, so that is something to consider. I believe it runs the H/PC version of CE. And web browsing on an iPaq sucks, partly because it is underpowered. I would have to wonder how the Viewpad 100 would compare.
Then again, the Airpanel might be a better choice than the Viewpad 100, since you could run the apps on a Terminal Server, and not be hindered by trying to run IE on an ARM. Then again, you would have to consider the cost of the Windows Server license and Terminal Services licenses.
As far as security goes, I wonder if the OS on the ViewPad 100 and the Airpanel support VPN. The latest PocketPC OS has VPN functionality built in, allowing you to secure your wireless connection with PPTP.
So, to recap:
- ViewPad 1000 - Powerful, but pricey
- ViewPad 1000 - Affordable, but kinda slow?
- Airpanel - Licensing costs?
Good luck, sounds like an interesting experiment! =)
Also By Viewsonic (Score:2)
I got mine from www.infocater.com
(no affiliation, just a happy customer)
setting up PDA-PC wireless LAN (Score:2)
I bought the BEFW11P1 linksys router cuz I wanted the print server and am
distributing the cable modem to two laptops and 2 desktop PCs (already had a
ethernet switch). I also bought the D-link DCF650W type 2 compact flash
wireless card. In retrospect I should bought all linksys or D-link stuff
because I had some interoperability problems at first. A couple of firmware
upgrades to the linksys box and everything works fine, but calling tech
support for both companies ended up in a finger pointing contest. Linksys
has a much better customer support dept and will get all my future business.
I also would suggest you use WEP64 or 128. The other night while surfing on
the IPAQ from My bedroom (all the way through the house and one floor up) I
lost signal to my linksys box and auto connected to somebody elses 802.11b
network. Who would figure that in the far suburbs (single famly houses on
1/2 acre lots) that I would cross connect to another wireless lan. after
thay I enabled WEP128 and haven't had any problems.
Screen Size (Score:2, Informative)
From the discussions I've had, they have all said that they would prefer something with a decent size screen that's wireless. When I showed them my PDA's browser, they all seemed to think it was too small.
I think something like this [advantech.com] would be more useful. It has a PCI slot allowing a choice of wireless cards, etc. Also the Viewsonic listed above looks nice...
Siemens Simpad SL4 (Score:2, Informative)
What more do you need?
issues... (Score:4, Interesting)
how do you sterilise a pda? pda's don't like autoclaves.
what resolution do you need to store x-ray's at? if your dad misses a tumor because the resolution isn't good enough, what will the lawyers say? and i doubt he has x-rays now online, but he might want them in the future.
Re:issues... (Score:2, Interesting)
My doctor has always had a desktop PC in the examination room, and I doubt that *that* is any easier to sterilize. It didn't stop him though, and I do believe it was there with no apparent danger to my life.
Re:issues... (Score:2)
it can/should be a neat project, but this person should walk in and try to cover all the bases. alcohol wipes could take care of the pda, just warning his father on the limits of digital images and pda displays can take care of the x-ray issue. but he should bring them up and get his dad communicating with him on those kinds of issues.
and by the way, there was a story on the bbc (i think) saying that the average cubicle desk had many times more bacteria then an office toilet. and that the biggest source of bacteria was computer keyboards. so maybe those heathcare people who kept asking me about that weren't just being pains in my ass.
Re:issues... (Score:1)
Computers are actually the most disease ridden thing in a hospital. When the nurse or doctor walks up to the computer in the hallway to punch in an order for medication or x-rays or something, they forget to wash their hands usually. Swabbing keyboards and growing the bacteria found in them is quite often a scary proposal (i.e. if you're going to find flesh eating bacteria anywhere in a hospital, it'll be in a keyboard)
Re:issues... (Score:2)
also, i used to know a fella in spain who was a programmer working at a hospital doing image processing. it wasnt x-rays, but he was working on stuff to enhance images and recognition algorithms.
basically, while i'm sure there are decisions that have to be made (resolution, etc..) there's no fundamental reason they can not be made. I mean I'm sure someone had to decide what grain film and what exposure to use for X-rays...
Just watch out for security (Score:2, Insightful)
If the clients are high-profile, it's more likely that someone would want to have (or alter) data that are so confidential as these, but even if their are not, there's always someone wanting to disrupt and make a mess.
Medical records are very sensitive information. Don't leave it unencrypted (or badly encrypted). Can you imagine the damage that an altered blood type could cause? Or some information about a disease a person has?
Be careful here, ok?!
Other solutions (Score:1)
OTOH I have a gut feeling that running the Cat5 and setting up some diskless PCs as Xterminals would give you better bang for your buck and more expandibility in the app department later on.
Quick Zaurus Plug (Score:2)
Sharp Zaurus SL-5500 (Score:1)
Security? (Score:2)
Please, for the love of god, don't leave patient medical info floating around the airwaves unencrypted.
Medical Manager (Score:1)
This company does what you are talking about and provides the PDAs, equipment and whatnot. Their backend also runs Linux (I interviewed for an R&D position there a long time ago.)
The question asked for ideas regarding PDAs and not a professional service, but in this case, especially when patients data is at risk of being lifted, I'd go with professionals.
ipaq + cisco 350 (Score:2)
If you use a cisco access point and card you can use LEAP to get real security.
The ipaq has IE and outlook on it, and has really good handwriting recognition. It also has a windows terminal services client, and there is a vnc client ported for it. I'd say it's just what you are looking for.
Don't do it (Score:2)
Then there is the fact that there is this infinitely better technology called paper out there. It's very high res, accepts many forms of input, can display just about anything and is cheap.
Re:Don't do it (Score:1)
Sure, paper has its advantages, but when a medical practitioner has to fill out multiple copies of forms, using paper quickly beomes irritating and time consuming. The form has to be copied and then sent out to all the interested parties. Paper only allows the information contained on it to be physically available where the paper is located. Paper can also be easily lost. Using a computer allows processes to be simplified greatly and makes data available wherever a computer terminal is available. Doctors, nurses, administrators etc. can then spend more time on dealing on the more important part of their job - the health and wellbeing of their patients.
wireless and tablet pc's (Score:2)
Watch out for HIPAA! Fines of $25,000 - $250,000 (Score:3, Informative)
When you really really want a hammer... (Score:3, Insightful)
If you merely need textual and numeric information, a simple Palm will be enough, as you can fit hundreds of patients, their medication, their billing history and whatnot into the standard 8MB. The information you need is probably not time critical up to the split second, it's more like up to ten minutes or so. You get the same benefits at a fraction of the price.
If you need graphical information and it absolutely HAS to be accurate up to the split second (like in the emergency areas of a clinic), you'd better get stationary computers instead. You don't want your PDA to run out of batteries when your patient is flat out in the ER room.
Or you can just get "webpads" or "tablet computers" instead of PDAs. It's not much fun to look at 4000x4000 pixel X-ray shots on a 200x200 screen... Shop around, there are lots of different models around, some running Linux and some Windows CE. They all come with web browsers, and they all either have WLAN built in or take PCMCIA cards.
But don't get color PDAs just because they would be cool. That's not cool.
Re:When you really really want a hammer... (Score:1)
Stationary computers are a much more practical solution. One of our company's clients extensively use stationary computers in their emergency department, as well as wireless equiped laptops that are moved about the department on special wheeled pedestal thingees. They find standard screen resolutions adequate for viewing X-rays, but have a few high res monitors about the place if finer detail is needed.
What does he need? (Score:1)
if your father is using it to get lab data, a simple web pad should be fine. i own a zaurus, and while i like it very much, the battery life is terrible if you us a CF wireless option. How busy is his practice? i see approximately 25 to 30 patients in a day, and battery life is very important.
security isn't too big a deal as most people think. the people we have to keep medical records away from are the insurance companies.... they are who can really screw you if they get a hold of your information.
data imput is also important. for the most part, i dictate into a dictaphone my daily records. it still is the most efficient way to keep track of my thoughts and ideas. if your father is a consultant, with 45 minutes per patient, then data imput is not as important.
ideally, the device should be light weight, with a large screen (SVGA), lots of battery life, touch screen, handwritting recognition, voice recognition. it's getting there.... but i'm still waiting!
Pad type. (Score:1)
Bigger and cheaper? (Score:1)