Devices for Bedside Computing

We're currently evaluating several devices for mobile bedside computing including subnotebooks (Dell D420, Lenovo X61), tablets (Motion Computing LE1600), and small form factor devices (the Apple iPhone/iPod Touch, Emano-Tec MedTab ). I will write another blog entry on stationary bedside computing devices such as wall mounted thin client devices.

Our early results are that nothing on the market yet meets our ideal requirements:
8 hour battery life
Can be easily disinfected to prevent the transmission of disease
Can be dropped 5 feet without significant damage
Under 2 pounds

Here's a list of those machines which attempt to fill the niche for mobile bedside computers

DellD420
Battery Life - 3 hours
Ability to disinfect - poor
Drop resistance - fair
Size/Weight - 8.3 x 11.6 x 1/ 3.0 pounds

Lenovo X61
Battery Life - 6 hours
Ability to disinfect - poor
Drop resistance - fair
Size/Weight - 8.3 x 10.5 x 1.4 / 3.6 pounds

Motion Computing C5 (Also known as the Intel Mobile Clinical Assistant)
Battery Life - 3 hours
Ability to disinfect - excellent
Drop resistance - good
Size/Weight - 10.0" x 10.0" x .95” / 3.3 pounds

Motion Computing LS800
Battery Life - 3 hours
Ability to disinfect - good
Drop resistance - good
Size/Weight - 8.94” x 6.69” x 0.87”/ 2.2 pounds

Motion Computing LE1700
Battery Life - 3 hours
Ability to disinfect - good
Drop resistance - good
Size/Weight - 11.65" x 9.64" x 0.74” / 3.3 pounds

Apple iPhone/iPod Touch
Battery Life - 3 hours
Ability to disinfect - good
Drop resistance - fair
Size/Weight - 2.4 x 4.5 x .46/ 4.8 ounces

Emano-Tec MedTab(a startup which is just entering the market)
Battery Life - 24 hours
Ability to disinfect - good
Drop resistance - good
Size/Weight - 5.5" X 7.5" X 0.5"/12 ounces

I'm personally carrying around the Dell D420 and Lenovo X61 to assess their reliability and durability.

We're piloting 5 LE1700's in our Emergency Department. The LE1700 has a 12.1" screen size compared to a 10.4" in the C5 and 8.4" i the LS800. We're testing it with a medication reconciliation application and will soon know more about its support of clinician workflow. In general, all the Motion Computing devices seem rugged, relatively easy to disinfect, and well engineered. However, battery life is limited to 3 hours, so we'll need to keep charging stations handy throughout the department.

The Emano-tec MedTab form factor and battery life are ideal. It uses an eInk display just like the recently announced Amazon Kindle. The lack of color may be a major limitation for some applications. At present, the device is not available in large quantities, so we're testing a prototype, also in our Emergency Department.

The iPod Touch is promising. A slightly larger form factor and better power management (longer life and/or hot swappable batteries) could make this an ideal medical device. Apple's attention to human interface features really shows here, but it's clearly intended to be a device for personal, not business use. We're testing it with our Emergency Department dashboard application.

Size and battery life for laptops is not as relevant if used as a Computer on Wheels on carts. We use two kinds of carts - The unpowered Ergoton StyleView and the powered Infologix SL Ultra Cart

The hardware and software development efforts of the past few years are getting us closer to the ideal mobile clinical device. At BIDMC one challenge is the difficulty involved in secure authentication. We use secure passwords (requiring capital letters, numbers, symbols, etc) which are difficult to rapidly enter via a tablet. Solutions include biometrics (we are testing Omnipass) and novel login mechanisms such as graphical authentication.

More to come as we complete our evaluation by the end of the year. I welcome any comments on other's experiences with mobile bedside computing devices.