Embedded electronics technology has been actively and rapidly being developed to transform traditional devices into adaptive and more useful ones. Whether the equipment is an automatic water heater or a GRPS-powered diesel wheelchair, embedded electronics technologies are entering all possible aspects of human life and are being used to improve them.

Digitized Healthcare

Healthcare is also benefiting from the development in embedded electronics technology. Advanced medical equipment is being developed to improve response to emergency medical situations. The integration of several types of medical equipment is also being done to create digitized operating rooms and diagnostics areas that can respond to medical needs more efficiently and accurately.

Telemedicine

Embedded electronics applications in the medical field are not restricted to hospitals. More and more devices are being developed to help patients that need care outside medical facilities. A manufacturer of advanced medical devices recently developed a shoe capable of storing and sending information about the user’s movement and workout habits.

The same company also developed a simple and less costly spirometer to monitor patients’ breathing volume and patterns. This is fully automated and has many parameters inbuilt in its programming. Used with an inhalator, this could give the patient, the doctors, the supervisors, and the insurance company an idea of how their client or employee is doing.

Future for Global Healthcare

Technological advancements plus change in public policy business models and public perception can significantly improve the healthcare system and extend the scope of medical care outside hospitals. In the future, integrated home and business networks would pave the way to a wider variety of healthcare options. The application of embedded electronics technology in healthcare would enable consumers to choose the type of services that will fit his or her needs. In the future, people can actually be diagnosed at home.

Safer, more efficient and wireless medical apparatuses that maximize convenience and flexibility for both patients and healthcare practitioners are also underway. Seoul National University, for instance, is developing an unobtrusive home health-monitoring system that integrates several sensors and devices to keep track of a person’s sleeping and movement patterns, snoring and other health indicators. All sensors and devices use Bluetooth and high-speed internet connection to send information from the patients’ home to the hospital. A Japanese University is also trying the same thing, embedding wireless devices to beds, pillows, bathroom tiles, toilet seats, and other parts of the house to monitor the individual’s health stats, from blood pressure to sleeping patterns.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 31st, 2007 at 12:11 am and is filed under Biomedical electronics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.