It's In Your Hands!The market for hand held products is huge and growing fast as technology allows applications and capabilities to be beyond anything that could be imagined just a few years ago. Like any other field where competition is fierce, technology is fast moving and consumer tastes fluctuate with fashion there will be a lot of fallout in the next few years as the inevitable market shakeout occurs. Designers of products for this widening market must keep pace with consumer demand and that is fueled by application development and improvements in production technology and the advent of the newer materials. As always a lot of the best and most innovative work is emanating form the engineering and business schools. Another major factor in the latest changes in hand held devices is the proliferation of wireless networks. The problems formerly experienced with dial up are resolved by wireless for multi unit locations, all needing to share data on a real time basis. Typical applications of this kind will be found in multi unit retail operations, widespread sales representation, dispersed patient scenarios for the medical field, geographically dispersed military units to cite some of the better known applications. In the case of the medical arena, medical center today involve teams of physicians, assistants and support staff, working to provide high quality health care, easy and speedy access and cost-effective service delivery. Typically, health care staffs have to manage patient appointments, medical records and emergency situations often on a 24 hour basis. There is a need to fit complex tasks into a schedule that can't be mapped in advance. The front line doctor and nurse have to be where the patients are, and have immediate access to real time data. In order to give the kind of patient care that is expected, the use of wireless has to be considered. Some of the more interesting applications for the hand held device are : GPS combinations with athletic training. Runners, cyclists, equestrian eventers can combine GPS capabilities locating trails, routes, maps with personal training regimens, recording personal monitoring data and remitting and storing complete training records to a central computer Medical - patient care Monitoring devices on a patient transmit critical health information wirelessly to a medical facility 24/7, Alerts can be raised immediately when key indicators are nearing dangerous levels. Rest room technology Rather than handheld this technology relies more on hand less updating. Restrooms are moving to doorless entrances. Toilets and urinals are now automatic-flush technology. Automatic toilet seat covers eliminate the need for the user’s skin to be in contact with the fixture. Automatic-on faucets and soap dispensers activated by proximity of the user. The faucet cannot be left on, Breast cancer detection Computer-aided detection (CAD) involves the use of computers to bring suspicious areas on a mammogram to the radiologist’s attention. It is used after the radiologist has done the initial review of the mammogram. An example is the ImageChecker®. This device scans a mammogram with a laser beam and converts it into a digital signal that is processed by a computer. The image is then displayed on a video monitor, with suspicious areas highlighted for the radiologist to review. The radiologist can compare the digital image with the conventional mammogram to see if any of the highlighted areas were missed on the initial review and require further evaluation. Treatment of acne pimples A handheld device is used to apply heat techniques to the affected site Building inspection A variety of electronic handheld tools are available to isolate problems and detect the presence of various substances
|