日系大廠力挺NFC插旗行動醫療市場2013/3/4鄭景尤 近距離無線通訊(NFC)勢力已開始於行動醫療(mHealth)產品中蔓延。無論是2012年年底德國杜塞道夫醫療器材展或2013年年初美國消費性電子展(CES)中，皆可見日本醫療電子廠商如歐姆龍(Omron)、索尼(Sony)推出以NFC為主要無線連結技術的居家照護產品，此外，富士通(FUJITSU)亦推出具NFC功能的寵物計步器，顯見NFC已開始於行動醫療市場當中攻城掠地。 工研院產業經濟與趨勢研究中心生活與生醫研究組醫療器材與健康照護研究部分析師林怡欣表示，索尼在2012年德國杜塞道夫醫療器材展中強調「Just Tap for an Easier Life」的概念，訴求以簡單的「觸碰」設備以交換醫療數據，因此，索尼已在其居家監測產品如血壓計或是血糖計中嵌入NFC動態標籤--Felica Plug，做為與智慧型手機通訊的方式。Felica Plug係由索尼專門為NFC推出的無線模組，該模組的運作頻率為13.56MHz，數據傳輸速度達每秒212kb。此外，Felica Plug具低電流特色，能以低於1毫安培(mA)的電流運作，並以低於0.1微安培(μA)的電流待機，適用於以電池運作的行動醫療產品。事實上，除了索尼以外，日系醫療電子大廠歐姆龍於今年初美國消費性電子展上也展出一系列採用NFC技術的居家照護產品，包含無線睡眠監控機、無線慢跑監控機、無線飲食監控機等。其他日本醫療電子廠商如山佐(YAMASA TOKEI)、A&D、AQ、泰爾茂(TERUMO)等亦已陸續推出一系列支援NFC功能的身體指數體重計、計步器、血壓計；富士通更針對寵物市場推出「愛狗專用計步器」，協助飼主利用NFC回傳寵物運動情形，再以行動裝置管理。此外，針對上述醫療數據管理，索尼、歐姆龍、泰爾茂則已分別推出專用NFC保健資料庫，以協助使用者進行個人化健康管理。值得注意的是，隨著行動醫療發展益加蓬勃，且醫療產品與智慧型手機的連結愈來愈緊密，歐姆龍日前已與日本電信商NTT DOCOMO合組docomo健康照護(docomo Healthcare)公司，專門設計、開發，並提供可連結至歐姆龍健康產品的智慧型手機服務。預計今年3月，該公司將會完成整合DOCOMO以及歐姆龍旗下健康資料庫的工作。
Near-field communication poised to be mHealth's next big wave June 13, 2011 | By Sara Jackson The floodgates may only have opened a crack, with just two near-field communication-enabled devices launched into the mHealth space in the past month--one for sleep tracking, and another for monitoring post-op infections--but a flood of NFC-enabled healthcare products are coming. Healthcare bloggers, IT experts and others all agree the nascent technology is poised to invade healthcare from all sides, with everything from NFC-enabled glucometers that can read strips without patients touching a button, to skin patches from which doctors can download vital sign information during an office visit. There's a bit of a breathless quality to the predictions just yet, and there should be. It's a wide-open field, with few products market-ready, but lots of ideas rolling around for how to harness the technology. Here are just a few:
Check-ins: Better than sign-in sheets or even kiosk sign-ins--NFC-enabled smartphones could allow patients to check in at the doctor's office, hospital or even ER.
Staff location/management: Home care companies in the Netherlands and the U.K. are using the technology to determine when staff arrive and leave a patient's home, and to allow them to upload and download patient information in a hands-free manner. And there's a clear case for using NFC technology to sign healthcare workers in and out of hospital units.
At-home diagnostics: One of the leading firms in the space, Gentag, is developing a testing platform that would combine NFC with immunoassay technology to allow at-home self-testing for pregnancy, fertility, drugs, allergens and even pathogens, according to company officials.
Fitness: NFC chips could enable smartphones to automatically upload (or download) an individual's exercise performance, rather than requiring them to upload or data-enter their information.
Emergency connectivity: EMTs could use the technology to identify injured patients without touching or moving or even talking to them. Pharmacy: Patients could update and refill prescriptions and get information on side effects through NFC-enabled phones. For CIOs, though, a host of unanswered questions remain.
Most important: Where (and how) do you install NFC readers at hospitals? At the entrance? In the ER? On individual units? It could take some time to parse out where the data should be collected, and even more to determine how to use all that information on patients and healthcare staff comings and goings.
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