BlackBerry PlayBook heading to hospitals?

When we talk about the BlackBerry PlayBook (or tablets in general) we usually only concentrate on the straight consumer aspect of things, when in reality, there are tons of "real world" applications that we often times overlook. Today at the Medical Design & Manufacturing West conference QNX announced it will demonstrate a new reference design for safety-critical medical devices. What does that mean? Basically that the Playbook could be used in hospitals to monitor different medical devices.

The reference design supports the Bluetooth Health Device Profile, a short-range wireless technology well-suited for medical applications in which data is relayed from the local device, such as a pulse oximeter, to a mobile phone or PC for in-hospital communications. The reference design also supports remote device connectivity with a BlackBerry PlayBook tablet. 

This is pretty cool news. Just think about all the application for the PlayBook in these types of environments. Doctors and nurses could use the PlayBook to keep tabs on patients and be hooked right into all the monitor equipment.  Back at Adobe MAX there was even brief look at some flash based medical apps. What are your thoughts on real-world applications like this for the PlayBook? Sound off in the comments. Keep reading for the full press release.

QNX Showcases New Medical Reference Design at MD&M West

Company's field-proven technology speeds development of diagnostic and monitoring applications; remote device connectivity highlighted with BlackBerry PlayBook tablet

MEDICAL DESIGN & MANUFACTURING WEST (BOOTH 427), ANAHEIM--(Marketwire - Feb. 8, 2011) - QNX Software Systems Co., a global leader in operating systems and middleware for connected embedded systems, today announced it will demonstrate a new reference design for safety-critical medical devices at the Medical Design & Manufacturing West conference. The new reference design highlights the wireless connectivity, rich graphics support, and field-proven reliability of the QNX® Neutrino® Realtime Operating System (RTOS).

As part of today's news, the company also announced it has joined the Continua Health Alliance, a non-profit, open industry organization of healthcare and technology companies working together to improve the quality of personal healthcare.

The medical reference design is built on the QNX Neutrino RTOS, which has a proven history in FDA-certified devices and offers best-in-class reliability essential for safety-critical devices. The design also features a human machine interface (HMI) based on the Qt^TM application framework and demonstrates connectivity to some Continua Certified^TM medical devices, including:

• blood pressure monitor
• weight scale
• pulse oximeter

The reference design supports the Bluetooth® Health Device Profile, a short-range wireless technology well-suited for medical applications in which data is relayed from the local device, such as a pulse oximeter, to a mobile phone or PC for in-hospital communications. The reference design also supports remote device connectivity with a BlackBerry® PlayBook^TM tablet.

With millions of installations worldwide and 30 years of performance in the field, QNX technology supports customers running applications where failure is not an option - from life-critical medical instruments and 9-1-1 call centers to control systems for nuclear reactors and high-speed trains.

"QNX has developed highly reliable and secure software for over 30 years," stated Justin Moon, product manager, QNX Software Systems. "QNX software drives many of the mission-critical systems the world depends on, and we are pleased to demonstrate the latest capabilities of the QNX Neutrino Realtime Operating System for medical devices. As healthcare applications and information move to the cloud, the security and reliability of QNX software becomes even more essential."