Medical goes high tech

Continuous advancements in IT and communications solutions, which make medical devices easier to use and more difficult to misuse, are supporting the spread of telehealthcare in the UK. This has generated increasing demand for telemetry and ambulatory products, which can be used safely in the home by patients or carers and supervised remotely by clinicians and used more effectively in hospitals. The demands for in hospital products which are smaller and easier to use has spawned the growing popularity of telehealthcare among medical professionals and has been driven by the greater availability of technology – for example broadband connections in people’s homes and the growing acceptability of wireless in healthcare organisations – plus the constant need to achieve new efficiencies and cost savings in the National Health Service. The evolution of ward products that can be monitored remotely from either the ward office or some other location has led to the development of products which can now be used in the home which allow for better and more frequent communication between patient and clinician. As this further develops, there will be greater emphasis on superior cost effective product design leading to greater collaboration between designers and manufacturers to create the next generation of easy to use, safe and reliable in home or mobile patient devices.