Amazingly Wireless

Gartner Wireless and Mobile Summit in Detroit

This year the Gartner Wireless and Mobile Summit 2006 is happening right here in Detroit. This is a great event for Wireless professionals to see what kind of Wireless applications are out there. Some of the interesting topcis they are going to cover in this include:
    1. Wireless Email
    2. Wimax based Wireless Networks
    3. Voice over WiFi

Voice over Wifi is a very interesting new innovation within the Wireless World. This concept is gaining momentum lately. One might wonder, how much bandwith there is for Voice over WiFi to work. You wonder. With the new MIMO technology and the latest WiMax technologies fast gaining acceptance in the marketplace, I am sure this is not a big deal.

The only thing is that telephone manufacturers should make phones in such a way that accept wireless signals. There are vendors coming up in that space as well.

Go WiFi!
Steve Lokam

Share your Wi-Fi connection with the World

This post refers to the article about Foneras by Maxwell, registered members of FON.com, a company which lets you share your Wi-Fi connection with the world and you get to use someone elses Wi-Fi connection when you need one in a different location.

Very interesting concept. I still wonder how this thing might work. I am guessing that the founder thinks that one day, all Wi-Fi connections in this world are listed on this and you get to use one of them when you out there in a different city or location.

But, most of the people who share would be homes and there is remote chance that I would be looking for such a shared Wi-Fi connection, when I am in a different city, because I might be at a hotel or some place like that. And that too.. these Wi-Fi connections have a very small range.

I am still wondering how this works. Unless there is a big cloud of Wi-Fi connections where ever I go and most of these coulds are part of this FON.com. Remotely  possible..

But, I shall post more on this once I figure out how this works.

Steve Lokam
Amazingly Wireless.

Implanted Credit Card?

With the FDA approval of VeriChip -- rice size RFID capsule that is used to implant into human body ( for the use from medical recording to tracking missing children to seld-identification to customer recognition to employer's monitoring their security entries ...) some people recalled scenes in some fictions, for example, the implanted credit card in 'The Diamond Age' by Neal Stephenson, which could very much likely to be true in the near future ... Below is from the Technovelgy site:

If they accepted you, they'd shoot the credit card right into you, then and there, on the spot. These guys implanted it in the iliac crest of the pelvis, some opted for the mastoid bone in the skull... Then you could go around and buy stuff just by asking for it...

From The Diamond Age, by Neal Stephenson. Published by Bantam Books in 1995

Is it something cool or frozening? I guess the answer will diverse widely, throughout people or usage. Is this going to be another taboo that is created and abandoned?

General Motors Wireless Initiatives, part 1

In a September 2005 Information Week article on wireless and RFID in vehicle manufacturing Eric Chabrow had this to say about General Motors' wireless initiatives,

Sep 19, 2005 12:00 General Motors Corp. has begun mounting wireless terminals on its material-delivery fork trucks. Truck operators get real-time updates for material requests to deliver vehicle parts to the production line in a just-in-time manner. GM contends that using a wireless fork truck makes its operators more responsive, so the company requires fewer overall employees to deliver materials to the production-line side.

Two other factory-floor wireless initiatives drive efficiencies at GM plants. The automated guided-vehicles system employs wireless connections to route a specific car to the next logical point in the assembly process. And a new application for PDAs gives team leaders up-to-the-second information on problems that need immediate attention. The carmaker uses the 802.11b/g standard for general-purpose wireless coverage and 802.11a for bandwidth-hungry apps. GM employs firewalls at each plant to secure wirelessly transmitted data.

This article is very good in general, but omits discussion of the numerous initiatives under way at GM with regard to cellular coverage, sensor-based wireless networks, two-way radio, physical layer security, and other RF-based efforts.

SAS Reach Out for Wireless Application

Wireless clinical trial idea provailing. People have already thought about making use of SAS -- mainstream clinical trial data analysis software -- to accomodate wireless Electronic Data Capture activities. A SUGI (SAS User Group International) conference publication has research paper discussing the current development for SAS programs to interact with the EDC devices. Way to go!

wireless SAS!

Hurdles to Wireless Clinical Trials

Here is another talk about the brand new world of adopting wireless clinical trial technology and system, by Richard Hanscott, Vice-President of Business Solutions at Orange UK .

How far is it from reality? I can think about some immediate hurdles to it.

Data accuracy. patients or participants need to be trained and monitored at first to make sure the correct use of wireless monitoring devices. Some error may not be detected through a remote controling system, causing mistakes in the original data failure. also there are stringent requirement to the accuracy and reliability of the wireless monitors.

Safety and security in the process of data transmission. This is probably the most intriguing. A third party will be able (in theory) to capture the transmitted data, full of privacy and commercial secret.

Additional side effects to health from wireless data collecting and transmission. This could be an issue because unlike RDIF, these data need to be transmitted through fairly long distance, which requires more powerful device and stronger radiation signals.

A need to establish large scale EDC center for receiving, managing and distributing the clinical trial data, through wide geographic areas. This could well develop into a separate service or industry.

What else? I just can not think about one non-technology resistance to it. How soon can we expect one?

Wireless Clinical Trial Forerunners

First step towards wireless clinical trial

Several companies proposed the electronic clinical diary – or eDiary, device and services to approach to the ultimate goal of a fully wireless clinical trial. To list a few:

CRF, Inc, eDiray system    

Invivo data, invivodata system

Wireless voice in Hospitals -- Some Design Considerations, Part 1

Voice communications in hospitals can be delivered face to face or by overhead paging, desk phones, desk phones with wireless extensions (or Bluetooth headsets), cell phones,  Voice over IP (VoIP), wireless VoIP, wireless voice paging (one-way) nurse call systems, intercoms, and two-way radio.  Increasingly, wireless voice is preferred, reducing our practical choices to desk phones with wireless extension or Bluetooth headsets, wireless voice paging, cell phones, and wireless VoIP. 

At RF Connect, we expect to see cell phones and wireless VoIP predominate in the 3 year timeframe because of

1. the ubiquity of cellular solutions,and their convenience for referring physicians, patients, visitors, and outsourced staff workers
2. the cost and network advantages of VoIP,
3. the increased availability of the Treo-like integrated voice/PDA handsets
4. the availability of larger form-factor handheld tablets with Bluetooth headsets for hands-free voice communications, along with handwriting, forms, and barcode capabilities.

Are these systems ready for prime time?  What are the communications infrastructure implications of these trends?  We'll explore these in future posts.

Mike McKay (mpmckay@rfconnect.com) is the co-founder and CTO of RF Connect LLC, a Michigan-based wireless services and integration firm.  He was formerly the program manager for communications systems at University of Michigan Hospitals, responsible for the voice, data, video, nurse call, radio, etc. for the complete re-build of the University of Michigan Hospitals campus.  He has since consulted on designs and provided systems solutions for a variety of hospitals in the US

Wireless Fantasy in Clinical Trial

11 –14 years. $800 mil. Is the average cost of R&D for a new drug to put on market for a pharmaceutical company. 70% of the R&D money goes to clinical trials.

Can wireless technology totally reshape the land?

Several series of wireless health monitoring device and systems are already on market. More are on the cue of FDA approval. They are – so far – all designed for individual patient use in hospitals and clinics.

Can we use then in clinical trials? I have been amazed by the thought. Phase III and IV clinical trials usually need to recruit hundreds to thousands of volunteer patients, monitor hundreds of health parameters including safety and drug efficacy, for a duration of several years. It should be a BIIIIIIIIIIIIIG development opportunity.

Picture this: clinical trial volunteers will no longer make frequent visits to the clinical trials sites and stay there for days, sometimes weeks. With devices brought back to home, all patients need to do is to wear the devices, take the pills, periodically drip some blood or urine samples to the device, and that’s all! All these can be done at home! With these done, data are transmitted directly to the Electronic Data Capture (EDC) service of the clinical trial, then data analysis services.

Further, with the proper monitoring system, in case any routine activity is missing – or certain data collection is missing, the clinical trial center may issue a (automatic?) phone call to remind the patients to take the drug, or take the measurements or tests.

Major human mistakes, that have been haunting the clinical trial workers all the time, will be gone! Missing data problems mostly gone! Difficulties in recruiting volunteers significantly reduced. Patient visits may be greatly reduced to only for important personal interact or only when complicated lab tests need to be done. Huge costs gone!

I googled for “wireless clinical trial”. Majority are the physician’s or companies collection for wireless data. At last I found one. A marketing analysis report talking about exactly what I have been thinking. Can$ 2650. If you are a developer seeking for new opportunity I fully believe its worthiness.

Young Wireless Geek?

My 12 year old son’s middle school has received a donation – dozens of iBooks, that kids can sign out and use – to do projects and whatever they want. Result 1. I helped my kid to make a Powerpoint movie presentation for his science project, and he used HIS computer at school to display it. Result 2. He came to me and asked for one for him…what dja guys think about this marketing strategy? How old do you think is proper for a kid liscenced for a personal laptop?