Samsung Electronics has introduced two new display models, the HCU7030 and HCF8000. The two new models are tailored for the healthcare sector. These models aim to enhance user experiences with features such as integrated pillow speaker interfaces, 4K resolution, and HDR performance. They are also Web RTC ready, enabling swift video conferencing integration.
Source: Samsung
Source: Samsung
The HCU7030 is designed for hospital environments, while the HCF8000 is suited for both healthcare and hotel settings. The displays are designed to prioritize patient comfort. The HCU7030 boasts a business management suite for easy device enrollment, and both models offer UL certification and three-pin plugs to uphold safety standards.
The HCU7030 series ranges from 43 to 75 inches, while the sleek 32” QLED HCF8000 fits well in hospitality settings. Both come with a Multi-Code Remote to minimize interference and Web RTC for virtual healthcare assistance.
Source: Samsung
LYNK Cloud, a comprehensive cloud solution, equips both models with customizable content, remote device management, and access to OTT entertainment. Managers can analyze user engagement and content viewership for an optimized guest experience.
Pricing & Availability
The HCU7030 launches in the U.S. on August 25, and the HCF8000 arrives in the U.S. and Europe in Q4 2023. No public pricing has been announced at this time.
Sunway Medical Centre commemorates a big milestone in robot-assisted surgeries, celebrating 1000 successful surgeries and its patients. Committed to being a leading smart hospital, SunMed advances further with the acquisition of the highly advanced, da Vinci Xi 4th Generation Surgical System.
Advantages of robot-assisted surgeries
A common misconception of robotic-assisted surgery is that it is performed by the robot. On the contrary, it is an advanced set of instruments, designed to assist surgeons in performing complex surgeries. The key advantage of using similar systems is that the surgeries are minimally invasive. This method will only require multiple smaller incisions called ‘keyholes’ rather than the bigger incisions in conventional procedures. This is particularly advantageous when having to perform surgeries on deeper lying tissue within the body, where accessibility and visibility for the surgeon is low. Patients benefit from this method too with faster recovery times and of course, less post-operative pain. Helen Ng, General Manager of MIS (Minimally Invasive Surgery) Services and Robotic Surgery, heaped praise on the system’s consistency and precision which lead to minimal scarring and blood loss for patients.
The da Vinci Xi surgical system simulating a procedure with the Patient cart (left) and Vision cart (right)
The acquisition of the da Vinci Xi system is an achievement in itself, being the first of its kind in Malaysia. The major subsystems consist of the Patient cart, housing robotic arms, the Vision cart and the Surgeon console. The robotic arms are modular and can be swapped with various instruments required for the surgery. These include grips that mimic the surgeons’ fingers in motion; forceps, cameras and many more. The arms can also be positioned independently of each other at various depth, making it versatile enough for multiple procedure types. The vision cart channels all the camera feed to allow nurses and surgeons to observe the procedure in real time. And finally, the surgeon console is where the surgeon conducts the procedure with the assistance of control handles to move the robotic arms and instruments with high precision, as well as view the procedure in real time 3D imaging.
Surgeons can perform complex acts such as stitching with the system
Sunway Medical Centre’s commitment to smart tech in healthcare
Sunway Medical Centre has been committed to the smart hospital initiative since 2016, with robot-assisted surgery being a key focus area. They initially started with the acquisition of the previous iteration da Vinci Si surgical system specializing for abdominal surgeries. Since then, they have further added on systems from Mako SmartRobotics and ROSA Knee system, used mainly for knee and hip replacement surgeries. In fact, Sunway Medical Center has recently celebrated Malaysia’s first robot-assisted joint replacement surgery in 2021. The newly acquired da Vinci Xi system is a further step up from the previous Si system. Dr Tan Ee Ping, the first surgeon to conduct a procedure with the Xi system, added that it brings a host of improved functionality compared to its predecessors and has “…smaller, thinner arms with newly designed joints that offer a great range of motion”.
Sunway Medical Centre has been so impressed with the performance of the da Vinci Xi system that they already plan to acquire a second unit, further highlighting their commitment to robot-assisted surgeries. Helen Ng believes that “The more we operate with these highly advanced robotic technologies, the more encouraged I feel that we are truly providing Malaysians with the best possible smart hospital technology to help them live their lives without pain”.
Put simply, edge computing is computing that takes place at or near the physical location of either the user or the source of the data being processed, such as a device or sensor.
By placing computing services closer to these locations, users benefit from faster, more reliable services and organizations benefit from the flexibility and agility of the open hybrid cloud.
Challenges in Edge Computing
With the proliferation of devices and services at edge sites, however, there is an increasing amount to manage outside the sphere of traditional operations. Platforms are being extended well beyond the data- centre, devices are multiplying and spreading across vast areas, and on-demand applications and services are running in significantly different and distant locations.
This evolving IT landscape is posing new challenges for organizations, including:
Ensuring they have the skills to address evolving edge infrastructure requirements.
Building capabilities that can react with minimal human interaction in a more secure and trusted way.
Effectively scaling at the edge with an ever-increasing number of devices and endpoints to consider.
Of course, while there are difficult challenges to overcome, many of them can be mitigated with edge automation.
Benefits of Edge Automation
Automating operations at the edge can reduce much of the complexity that comes from extending hybrid cloud infrastructure so you are better able to take advantage of the benefits edge computing provides.
Edge automation can help your organization:
Increase scalability by applying configurations more consistently across your infrastructure and managing edge devices more efficiently.
Boost agility by adapting to changing customer demands and using edge resources only as needed.
Focus on remote operational security and safety by running updates, patches and required maintenance automatically without sending a technician to the site.
Reduce downtime by simplifying network management and reducing the chance of human error.
Improve efficiency by increasing performance with automated analysis, monitoring and alerting.
7 Examples of Edge Automation
Here are some industry-specific use cases and examples demonstrating edge automation’s value.
1. Transportation industry
By automating complex manual device configuration processes, transportation companies can efficiently deploy software and application updates to trains, aeroplanes and other moving vehicles with significantly less human intervention. This can save time and help eliminate manual configuration errors, freeing teams to work on more strategic, innovative and valuable projects.
Compared to a manual approach, automating device installation and management is generally safer and more reliable.
2. Retail
Establishing a new retail store and getting its digital services online can be complex, involving configuration management of networked devices, configuration auditing and setting up computing resources across the retail facility. And once a store is set up and open to the public, the IT focus shifts from speed and scale to consistency and reliability.
Edge automation gives retail stores the ability to stand up and maintain new devices more quickly and consistently while reducing manual configuration and update errors.
3. Industry 4.0
From oil and gas refineries to smart factories to supply chains, Industry 4.0 is seeing the integration of technologies such as the internet of things (IoT), cloud computing, analytics and artificial intelligence/machine learning (AI/ML) into industrial production facilities and across operations.
One example of the value of edge automation in Industry 4.0 can be found on the manufacturing floor. There, supported by visualization algorithms, edge automation can help detect defects in manufactured components on the assembly line. It can also help improve the safety of factory operations by identifying and alerting hazardous conditions or unpermitted actions.
4. Telecommunications, media and entertainment
The advantages edge automation can provide to service providers are numerous and include clear improvements to customer experience.
For example, edge automation can turn the data edge devices produce into valuable insights that can be used to improve customer experience, such as automatically resolving connectivity issues.
The delivery of new services can also be streamlined with edge automation. Service providers can send a device to a customer’s home or office that they can simply plug in and run, without the need for a technician on site. Automating service delivery not only improves the customer experience, it creates a more efficient network maintenance process, with the potential of reducing costs.
5. Financial services and insurance
Customers are demanding more personalized financial services and tools that can be accessed from virtually anywhere, including from customers’ mobile devices.
For example, if a bank launches a self-service tool to help their customers find the right offering — such as a new insurance package, a mortgage, or a credit card — edge automation can help that bank scale the new service while also automatically meeting strict industry security standards without impacting the customer experience.
Edge automation can help provide the speed and access that customers want, with the reliability and scalability that financial service providers need.
6. Smart cities
To improve services while increasing efficiency, many municipalities are incorporating edge technologies such as IoT and AI/ML to monitor and respond to issues affecting public safety, citizen satisfaction and environmental sustainability.
Early smart city projects were constrained by the technology of the time, but the rollout of 5G networks (and new communications technologies still to come) not only increase data speeds but also makes it possible to connect more devices. To scale capabilities more effectively, smart cities need to automate edge operations, including data collection, processing, monitoring and alerting.
7. Healthcare
Healthcare has long since started to move away from hospitals toward remote care treatment options such as outpatient centres, clinics and freestanding emergency rooms, and technologies have evolved and proliferated to support these new environments. Clinical decision-making can also be improved and personalized based on patient data generated from wearables and a variety of other medical devices.
Using automation, edge computing and analytics, clinicians can efficiently convert this flood of new data into valuable insights to help improve patient outcomes while delivering both financial and operational value.
Red Hat Edge
Modern compute platforms powered by Red Hat Edge can help organizations extend their open hybrid cloud to the edge. Red Hat Edge represents Red Hat’s collective drive to integrate edge computing across the open hybrid cloud. Red Hat’s large and growing ecosystem of partners and open methodologies give organizations the flexibility they need to build platforms that can respond to rapidly changing market conditions and create differentiated offerings.
Nosocomial infections, better known as hospital-acquired infections, have always been a concern for patients and healthcare workers. In the midst of a pandemic, the concern and risk of contracting one are significantly increased. With the COVID-19 pandemic, these infections are more common in patients suffering from COVID-19 and even healthcare workers. This can also include a COVID-19 infection.
Electrolux, one of the leading electrical appliance companies, has recognised the increased risk that front liners and patients face in the midst of the pandemic. Hence, Electrolux Malaysia has decided to help alleviate the risk by supplying Hospital Sg Buloh with the Electrolux Pure A9. The air purifiers deployed to Sg Buloh hospital will be used to help provide better air quality for patients and healthcare workers.
The Electrolux Pure A9 is equipped with ionizer technology with a 5-step filtration system that is able to remove 99.99% of bacteria and influenza A (H1N1). The system is also able to reduce the presence of human coronaviruses (HCoV-229E) by up to 97%. The company is confident that these air-purifiers will be able to help in combating COVID-19.
The Electrolux Pure A9 works by continually monitoring the air quality of the room it is deployed in. Using the PureSense system, the Pure A9 will intelligently respond to changes in air quality by measuring both indoor and outdoor air quality. With this information, it will automatically adjust the purification rate. The air purifier is designed to reach and purify every corner with a clean air delivery rate (CADR) three times higher than the previous generation. It is also designed to minimise sound pollution with a minimum noise level of 16.5dB.
In total, Electrolux donated 20 units of the Pure A9 air purifiers. This was spread across two models: the PA91-606DG (14 units) and the PA91-406GY (6 units). Together with this, Electrolux also donated 14 units of the DEEP 360 Filter 13 600 and six units of the DEEP 360 Filter 13 400.
Acer has been really busy in the recent past expanding its portfolio to become a more well-rounded tech and lifestyle company. In recent years, the company has already introduced the Predator Shot, an energy drink targeted at gamers, the Predator Gaming Chair, a collaborative effort with OSIM, and even a brand new brand – Acerpure. The company isn’t just stopping there though. It looks like they are expanding into the healthcare segment and it’s happening really soon.
In an interview session with the media, President of Acer Pan Asia Pacific Operations, Mr Andrew Hou, unwittingly revealed that the company would be exploring opportunities in healthcare in the near future. Upon further investigation, we found that Acer has already set up a new subsidiary, Acer Healthcare. The company is listed in the Tracxn database and is noted to be founded in 2019. Acer has also set up an official website for Acer Healthcare.
Source: Channel News Asia / Mr Andrew Hou, President of Acer Pan Pacific Operations
It looks like Acer is looking to leverage its prowess in dealing with data and technology to help bridge the closing gap between technology and medicine. Acer Healthcare seems to be looking into using AI-powered devices to help with diagnosis and patient monitoring. The field has been growing in the past few years with multiple startups and companies exploring opportunities and new technologies that can help better diagnose patients.
Acer Healthcare has already released a product called VeriSee DR, an AI-assisted solution for diagnosing Diabetic Retinopathy – a condition that affects close to 130 million people worldwide. Using Acer’s VeriSee DR, the condition can be diagnosed by utilising AI to analyse pictures of patients’ ocular fundus (the interior of the eye) for signs of diabetic retinopathy. According to their website, the technology works with a 95% sensitivity with 90% specificity for diagnosis. In fact, Acer Healthcare has ongoing clinical trials with the VeriSee DR and has published research on it in multiple medical journals.
In addition to VeriSee DR, it looks like Acer Healthcare is focusing on research and development of new diagnostic technologies using AI. Of note are a few currently listed research projects which include the diagnosis of heart arrhythmia using AI analysis of data collected from continual detection using an Acer Leap Ware wearable device and the diagnosis of renal impairment through retinal fundus imaging. While it does seem like the company’s focus is on diagnostic technologies they are also working on technologies for medical record and referrals as well.
This article is written based on an email interview with Mr Chris Teo, CEO of Mednefits.
Automation seems to be all the rage nowadays; seeing implementations in a wide spectrum of industries. However, you’d never have thunk that automation could be the answer to one of the most pervasive issues that beleaguer companies – employee medical benefits. The current norm in administering medical benefits is through costly insurance plans which not only cover hospitalisation but also outpatient treatment. These plans can cause some undue financial strain on the company.
That said, automating the process through bridging companies and outpatient providers such as neighbourhood clinics could be the rosetta stone to solving the conundrum. With platforms like Mednefits, neighbourhood clinics and other smaller outpatient health providers can be linked directly to companies for the administration of these benefits. Platforms of the same creed allow companies to link directly with outpatient providers to better administer and optimise their spending for employee health benefits.
It may seem like we’ve gone a little too far into administering health benefits, but these platforms aren’t just about automating the administration thereof. They also allow clinics and outpatient providers to automate their own in-house administration processes. They will also empower these providers to adopt more current technologies in their day to day processes. Processes such as patient records and administration can be automated and digitized allowing them to focus on what matters – patient care. The hours spent on patient administration is also minimised with the implementation of automated registration. In addition, even when it comes to patient care, doctors can focus on treating the patient with automated voice notes.
In a system that has been ravaged by the current COVID-19 pandemic, the implementation of automation technologies can actually be a boon for the medical arena – even in neighbourhood clinics. Using things like artificial intelligence (A.I.) to help with analysing, recording and even consolidating patient data into actionable insights. According to Chris Teo, CEO of Mednefits, “Prioritising digitalisation for tasks that can be automated gives more time for healthcare workers to put patients first.” It may seem like a wide sweeping statement, but when the majority of menial tasks have been automated, doctors running neighbourhood clinics can spend less time administrating their business and focus on delivering effective care to their patients.
How then do companies benefit? With platforms like Mednefits, human resource departments need not engage insurance companies. Instead, they deal with a pay per use system which allows them to pay according to employee usage. These platforms provide a more seamless experience when it comes to employee benefits. The need for long lists of panel clinics is eliminated through the use of the Mednefits app which automatically highlights nearby panel clinics when employees need to get an MC or doctor’s note. A simple click of an icon for all the information at their fingertips. Co-pay arrangements can also be eliminated.
That said, when it comes to implementing such automation systems, the issue of data privacy naturally comes up. In a world where it seems like we’re facing a data breach on a weekly basis, access to personal data – in this case, patient data – is a valid concern. However, according to Mr Teo, the digitization data of patient data can be isolated from platforms like Mednefits. In fact, he stresses that while the platform does bridge the gap between outpatient healthcare providers, it doesn’t give companies access to sensitive patient data. Companies will only be able to track items such as claims made at these outpatient facilities. That said, this doesn’t discount the need on both company and provider’s ends to properly ascertain that their data is protected.
Essentially, platforms like Mednefits aim to not only give companies better control of their spending when it comes to healthcare benefits for their employees. They aim to help streamline the process for both companies and outpatient healthcare providers to allow them to focus on building their respective businesses. That said, eliminating a costly middleman when it comes to healthcare also makes it more accessible to the masses. As such, automating and optimising is a seemingly win-win-win situation. As Mr Teo puts it, “By streamlining and automating the administration work in the provision, costs can be reduced while improving the patient experience as well as the reducing the employer’s workload.”
With all the attention that HUAWEI is getting these past few weeks for all the wrong reasons, they are still positive. They are still Malaysia’s biggest hope to our progression toward 5G, they have collaborated with Singapore to bring more contents to their own platform, and they are still innovating on their smartphones. Also, they are still the largest network infrastructure provider in this part of the world.
Driverless cars, on the other hand, is not something that is quite prevalent here. In South East Asia at least, the most we can get is assisted braking. Even radar guided cruise control over here is not something that is readily available. To hear about a driverless car in this neck of the woods is news.
Sadly, we are not getting that technology in Malaysia. The system is placed in Thailand first. It is not a Tesla either. It is completely autonomous with no human input controls within the vehicle at least.
It is not made for commercial purposes either, so you cannot even buy it even if you have millions in the bank. Maybe you can, but that is not the point. The new autonomous vehicle is Thailand’s next step in transforming the nation into a digital one.
Technically the vehicle in question looks nothing more than a metal box on four wheels. That is because, that is all it is – a delivery vehicle to revolutionise the Thailand healthcare industry. No, it is not made to transport human beings as ambulances.
Source: HUAWEI
They are mostly made to transport medical equipment, or medical supplies either within a hospital compound or from one hospital in town to the other. Which also means that this will also be on the road. There is a problem to all these autonomous vehicles however – how are they driven?
Usually an autonomous vehicle gathers data through various cameras and sensors placed around its body panels. These data are stitched through its ‘brains’ or CPU and uploaded to the cloud for further analysis to create detailed information of the road it sees, and the objects around it. The computer within the vehicle will determine how fast it should be going, where it should be heading, and where to place itself to avoid collisions, and find the fastest route to its destination. This also means a more reliable delivery service. Important when it comes to life and death.
There is a crucial component in autonomous vehicle networks though – data. You cannot just collect endless amounts of data and not offload it and back it up somewhere else. You need to share the data, back it up, and retrieve older data for the machine to understand situations better and make decisions based on every other data. For that, you need a stable and fast internet connection. For that you can look at 5G.
In this case, HUAWEI is that big partner that brings on the 5G capabilities required for Thailand’s revolutionary delivery vehicle service for the medical field. Technically that is it, HUAWEI empowering the healthcare segment of Thailand through their 5G. There is a little more than that though.
By effectively transforming the healthcare environment with 5G infrastructures also propels Thailand at the forefront of 5G readiness. While Malaysia is aiming to get 5G to hit the streets as soon as the end of 2020, it seems that Thailand has leaped forward and start taking advantage of 5G in improving their healthcare capacity and capabilities. This is a start to a much bigger 5G future.
What do you think of Malaysia’s progress toward 5G? Which industry do you think should get 5G capabilities first? Let us know in the comments!
