IBM and Beijing Goodwill launched an all-in-one electronic cardiogram management system on Aug. 17 to allow doctors to monitor patients' ECG data using WiFi.
IBM and
Beijing Goodwill Information and Technology announced the
first all-in-one electronic cardiogram management system in China on Aug. 17 to
allow doctors to view a patient's ECG (electrocardiography) data remotely in
real time using
WiFi.
According
to Sue Green, IBM's manager for software
systems solutions, the partnership with Beijing Goodwill is an example of IBM's
strategy to make technologies in medical facilities accessible on smartphones,
tablet PCs and other wireless devices.
"Working
with companies like Beijing Goodwill, we've found that there's quite a few ways
to extend health care beyond the hospital walls," Green told eWEEK.
As
part of its
Smarter Healthcare initiative, IBM
aims to help the medical field achieve better care, fewer mistakes and improved
patient choices, as well as doctors' ability to predict and prevent diseases.
The initiative also involves sharing data efficiently among doctors, patients
and insurers.
The
heart of the ECM system is
IBM's DB2 database and analytics software, which runs on
Big Blue's System x server. IBM has optimized System x to handle patients' ECG
data.
The
DB2 relational database software allows companies to use advanced analytics to
boost medical research, improve diagnosis and treatment, and reduce health care
costs, the company said.
The
ECM system also includes Beijing Goodwill's Electronic Cardiogram professional
applications and medical devices, such as Holter systems, treadmill stress
machines and patient monitors.
Cardiovascular
disease is the No. 1 cause of death globally, according to the
World Health Organization. In addition, the American Heart
Association journal "Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes"
reported that cardiovascular diseases and death rates will increase by as much
as 73 percent in China
by 2030.
"Together
with IBM, our company is leveraging
technology to address the No. 1 disease in China
and worldwide," Xia Jun, president of Beijing Goodwill, said in a
statement. "The new ECM system will benefit all physicians and patients by
helping to improve the management and care of [cardiovascular diseases]."
In
May 2009, IBM opened a Healthcare Industry
Solutions Lab in China
to use IT to tackle the health care challenges in that country.
In
addition, IBM recently announced a
$100 million investment in health care IT in which medical
doctors will work alongside researchers.
Email
Print
