from us. But it is even worse for them if they are totally ripped from their social environment.” This was also described by Professor Christian Gerlofff, deputy medical director and head of the department for Neurology at the HamburgEppendorf University Hospital, (UKE). In a project promoted by Cisco at the children’s hospital of the UKE, children who are ill over the long term are given the opportunity to continue participating in their school lessons using video technology. This project is taking place within the scope of “Smart Cities”, which Cisco and the City of Hamburg are working on in cooperation with each other. Under the heading “School and Health”, this specifically makes it possible for Thorben, who has been ill over the long term, to actively take part in school lessons along with his fellow classmates and teachers via audio and video transmission. Equipped with an iPad and the video soft client 'JAbber’ installed on it, Thorben can control the camera located on a trolley in his classroom. “We only have to roll the trolley into the classroom in the morning, plug in the power cable
and switch on the power strip. When Thorben turns on, we hear a quiet noise and know that he is here,” explained Christina Iserhot, Thorben’s school teacher. In fact, Thorben actively takes part in the lessons. “It was our goal to take children out of their isolation and make it possible for them to actively take part in school lessons. If someone whispers in the background or something falls down, Thorben becomes aware of it and is capable of directing the camera toward it,” explained Till Osswald, business development manager of the healthcare department for the EMEA region at Cisco. In the meantime, the pilot project was expanded to include another student, a 17-yearold grammar school pupil. “The experience shows that users accept and understand the technology very quickly and immediately feel included again on a social level.” The project has been developed and executed in cooperation with Avodaq, Cisco and the Hamburg-Eppendorf University Hospital. In the meanwhile, there have been fifty registrations on the waiting list from
Hamburg alone. Particular dynamics in the field of wearables The “Internet of Things” and “Wearables” also have the potential of becoming an essential element of networked health in the future. As part of the MEDICA CONNECTED HEALTHCARE FORUM and the “WT Wearable Technologies Show” (also in the MEDICA hall 15, stand A 23), around thirty companies from the entire supply chain will be showing where things will be heading toward in their opinion. Not only devices will be presented, but also the latest technologies that make these devices possible in the first place. Christian Stammel, founder and CEO of the WT Wearable Technologies Group, particularly emphasises the sophisticated options provided by data processing, which have made enormous advancements due to wearable technologies such as sensors. That which had originally been worn privately, ranging from quantified self-movement all the way to self-tracking, is going to also increasingly establish itself in the field of healthcare and replace older technologies. The spectrum of devices ranges from lifestyle
products such as the Apple Watch, to intelligent glasses and hearing devices, so-called “hearables”, all the way to the latest trend – intelligent patches that continually retrieve physical data, but that can also administer medications in a minimally evasive manner. Smart patches on the path to becoming multi-talents In comparison to T-shirts with integrated sensors, the risk of artefacts is, for example, considerably less in the case of smart patches and the products are almost invisible. These “smart patches” could mean a great alleviation in the future, particularly for diabetics. As an example, Stammel mentions the “Diabetes Care’s FreeStyle Libre”, which has been approved by the FDA. European approval is still pending, but: This is a patch for measuring blood sugar that can be worn while showering, swimming and when doing sport and only has to be changed every two weeks. By means of a painless scan, the patient obtains the current glucose value, the glucose data over the course of the last eight hours and trend
Medical Device ASIA | September-October 2015 | 43