There is an evident growing trend of collaborations between companies in the technological sphere. Since technology can be applied for the benefit of any kind of business or an institution, a wide variety of solutions has arisen – sparking even more innovative ways to solve problems and react to the necessities. The case of Advantech and King Khalid University Hospital (KKUH) collaboration is a splendid example of such a successful implementation of technology. The medical personnel at King Khalid University expressed a need for “a flexible, computerized nursing cart” (Advantech, 2014). The KKUH needed an integrated device with pragmatic features that would allow the caregivers to check on a patient in real-time, access their vital signs, check test results and confirm prescribed medication.
A solution was proposed by Advantech in the form of various models of these nursing carts – all boasting a wide range of technologies used within them. The AmiS-50 is able to access the Electronic Medical Record and has an upgradeable, modular design in software as well as hardware. Another type, PDC-W215, uses technologies such as RFID, magnetic stripe, and barcode scanners while also providing entertainment to patients in various forms of media, including television and video games. The RFID technology, for example, can be useful in the case of hospitals – with its ability to read data transmitted by tiny electronic tags, it can potentially be used to track medication expiration dates, as it already successfully used by “large retailers to maintain inventory” (Integrating Wireless Technology into Business, p. 292). Passive RFID chips that do not require a power source, as their power is replenished by active RFIDs that transmit it via radio waves, which is undoubted an indisputable advantage. Overall, the collaboration project between Advantech and KKUH can be deemed successful. The initial requests of the hospital staff were satisfied with innovative yet simply designed technological solutions.
References
Advantech Delivers Smart Hospital Solutions to King Khalid University Hospital. (2014). Web.
Integrating Wireless Technology into Business. (n/d). Chapter 16, pp. 282-293.