Easy of use
When telemedicine involves home self measurements of subject, the ease
of use of the device in the system is a primary focus. One-button equipment
and easy to explain equipment is usable, where complicated equipment require
sometime many manual action is error-prone and therefore may lead to
misreadings in the system.
Dates and times
One of the key data from telemedicine system is the date and time of
the readings. In home self measurement, no clinician is there to record
the local date and time, but in many cases this is vital information.
Therefore, the equipment selected by NetMedical is tested heavily on the handling
of internal clock. We also prefer to use equipment that does not
allow the subject or investigator to set or modify the internal clock
of the equipment. And in case the clock of the equipment can be changed,
the iModem is instructed to update the clock where needed.
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Wired...
When using equipment with a wire to the iModem it is clear to everyone
that the equipment is connected and they'll be close to the iModem as well
being able to look at the indicators on the iModem to confirm transmission.
...or wireless
When using BluetoothTM wireless equipment, the freedom for subjects and investigators
increases, but so does the uncertainty of transmission. Equipment with short
BluetoothTM ranges (a typical mobile phone has +/-5 meters effective range) may
dismiss themselves for use in telemedicine. Imagine a weighing scale in your
bathroom and the iModem in your living room. The distance usually exceeds
10 meters, and with floors in between you need much more wireless range.
NetMedical therefore looks closely at wireless equipment and selects
devices that have the BluetoothTM Class I in there with 100 meter range.
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Clinical Grade
On top of being fit for telemedicine, equipment is of course clincial grade
and certified for use in the clinical environment. This means for instance that
the blood pressure units that the iModem supports all have BHS AA, ESH or
International Protocol validations. Next to that, NetMedical tests the equipment
for use when integrated with the iModem system.
Other checks
Other things NetMedical checks the devices for is battery lifetime, possible
deviations on timestamps, serial number handling, firmware versions and
communication protocols. All these elements determine the ability for a device
to be able to generate audit trails and valid measurements that you can trust!
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