Data General Corp has introduced the DataGenie Medical Cart, an 80486 notebook computer integrated into a typical four-wheel hospital cart. The cart, usually plastic, has a flexible arrangement of drawers and work surfaces, and on the top, Data General has fixed a small flat-panel display, driven by a 50MHz 80486 notebook, capable of running terminal emulations of the hospital’s systems under MS-DOS or Windows. The product is available with either an active or passive matrix screen. While the active screen provides easy viewing from long distances, the passive screen, with a limited brightness level and viewing angle, can be used to limit visibility when required. It also has a full size keyboard. The DataGenie is powered by two batteries that are used one at a time; when one is low and needs charging, the DataGenie will switch to the other, enabling users to remove and replace the failing battery without having to take the cart off-line. The DataGenie Medical Cart has a wireless link that enables it to access the hospital’s Ethernet-based network. This means that doctors or nurses on the wards can access patients’ data from the central repository. It also means that data can be directly input into the hospital’s central system, thus avoiding the need to duplicate the entry of data, or to do it manually. It has a badge reader designed to limit access to designated personnel, and limits of access are up to the hospital’s network administrator to configure. A scanner to read patient wrist bands and printers to generate bar code labels is also available. The cart design is described as rugged and has pull-out work surfaces and drawers. Prototypes are being used now and the DataGenie should be available next month. Data General says it is plannings to market the combination worldwide and is working on a 2.5GHz wireless version for the European market. The entry level cart costs $7,900 but additional base hardware might be needed, depending on site specifics.
