FEATURE WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS 011
Technology has transformed the global healthcare sector. medical equipment and devices to diagnose, monitor or treat illnesses have changed and saved lives throughout the developed and developing world. Jihad srage, president of Qualcomm middle east & africa discusses how today’s wireless communications are having a fundamental impact on the way the medical community operates and on the futures of millions of patients around the globe.
from, hence being able to treat the condition before it gets worse. These technologies welcome an era where healthcare meets innovative wireless communications in the region. Previously, the extent of wireless communication’s contribution
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to saving lives was the emergency number or a doctor’s pager. But today, the compression of time that wireless technologies deliver is revolutionizing the healthcare industry. Critical information from patients, family members and caregivers is getting to health care providers more quickly and vice versa; this acceleration is bringing fundamental improvements to prevention and treatment of our most significant health risks.
woman expecting her first child, shares 3D ultrasound stills of her baby with her mother, across the world, via her mobile. A doctor in Europe successfully identifies a rare skin condition a patient in a small town in Egypt is suffering
glucose meters, give people a more personal, effective and real-time healthcare experience.
Healthcare costs are an increasing burden in both developed and
developing countries. In developing countries, it is even harder for people to bear these costs given poor health coverage and a lack of financial support. Increased access to wireless healthcare services will provide an inexpensive way to manage one’s own healthcare needs. Advances in wireless healthcare have most significantly impacted
developing countries, especially in under-served communities hundreds of kilometers from urban hospitals and health facilities. In many such communities, patients in remote villages either have too little access to communication with healthcare professionals, or, at best, must spend valuable time travelling to distant medical facilities for diagnostics and treatment. Even if this can be done, many simply cannot make the journey back for follow-up results and treatment. 3G mobile
“The key benefiT creaTed by The rapid convergence of healThcare and wireless communicaTion is The individualized healThcare experience, wiTh a focus on prevenTive raTher Than reacTive healThcare”
In just the last few years alone, advanced technologies such as third
generation (3G) wireless voice and broadband, have transformed the delivery of healthcare services and created countless new possibilities for patient care. Medical professionals now have the capability to utilize instruments to achieve advanced, patient-centric tasks such as remote/home-based patient monitoring, wireless ordering and tracking systems for medications and receiving medical data via wireless devices between patients and physicians on a real-time basis. In short, wireless technologies can now be used to help people before they get to the hospital (or even prevent them having to be hospitalized), while they are in the hospital and after they have been discharged. The key benefit created by the rapid convergence of healthcare and wireless communication is the individualized healthcare experience, with a focus on preventive rather than reactive healthcare. 3G wireless technology can now connect patients, caregivers and physicians at all times. Patient data can be viewed by the patient and caregiver, and be reviewed remotely by his or her doctor. Patients and their families receive input from their healthcare provider and, at the same time, can monitor health performance and use that information to adjust behavior, a technique called ‘course correcting.’ Wireless sensors, currently in the marketplace, can also track important vital signs such as blood sugar, blood pressure, sleep state and even caloric intake and expenditure. This is a vital contribution made by wireless technology as it cuts cost and reduces the number of hospital admissions. Of course, the most direct beneficiary of ‘wireless healthcare’ is the consumer. New solutions, such as wireless biosensor bandages and
healthcare tools are often the most effective way to address the lack of medical facilities and dearth of medical practitioners in rural areas. The wireless healthcare market has taken great strides forward since the early days of 2003 and is founded on partnerships between companies that are leaders in their field and eager to incorporate wireless technology into healthcare solutions to improve patient care, speed diagnosis, manage therapies and provide peace-of- mind monitoring solutions. By working with companies that represent industries atypical of its traditional partners – medical device manufacturers, health information technology enterprises, pharmaceutical corporations, and clinical trial firms – there is a new ‘personal health performance’ market emerging. This market is an integrated ecosystem of innovative technology that will bring health, wellness and fitness applications to mobile devices. Consumers who have already made wireless communications
an integral part of their lives – via entertainment, business and social networking – are likely to be eager adopters of technology which will keep them healthier and potentially help them live longer, more fulfilling lives. In the years ahead, we will see many new health devices and
services that provide truly end-to-end self-diagnostics and automated processes for self-healing. But we also will see more scalable wireless infrastructure enabling superior wireless data transfer capabilities that will open the next-generation of mobile health devices and services. And leading innovators in the field of mobility will be there to continue to develop innovative wireless solutions that will make life more productive, healthy and enjoyable for consumers around the world. +
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