Category: Medical Grade Computers

streamline hospitals with medical PCs

Medical PCs Streamline Hospitals

Michelle

In today’s fast-paced world, technology plays a crucial role in transforming various industries, and healthcare is no exception. One such groundbreaking innovation that has revolutionized medical practices is the Medical PC. In this blog, we delve into the capabilities, benefits, and potential applications of these advanced computing systems in the healthcare landscape.

What is a Medical PC?

A Medical PC, also known as a medical-grade computer or healthcare PC, is a specialized computing device designed specifically for the unique demands of healthcare environments. These PCs are equipped with features and functionalities that cater to the stringent requirements of healthcare providers, ensuring efficiency, accuracy, and enhanced patient care. They are built to withstand the challenges of clinical settings, such as exposure to liquids, frequent disinfection, and compatibility with medical peripherals and devices.

Key Features and Benefits:

Medical PCs offer a wide range of features and benefits that contribute to improved healthcare outcomes. Firstly, they are designed with antimicrobial materials, preventing the growth and spread of harmful bacteria and germs. Their fanless design reduces the risk of airborne contaminants, making them ideal for sterile environments. Medical PCs are also equipped with high-resolution displays, enabling healthcare professionals to view medical images, patient records, and vital signs with utmost clarity.

Furthermore, these specialized computers are integrated with advanced connectivity options, including Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and RFID, facilitating seamless communication and data exchange. The ability to connect to medical devices such as ultrasound machines, EKGs, and digital imaging systems enhances workflow efficiency and eliminates manual data entry errors.

Moreover, medical-grade computers are built to ensure patient data security and privacy, complying with stringent regulations like HIPAA. They offer features like biometric authentication, data encryption, and secure network connections, safeguarding sensitive medical information from unauthorized access.

Applications in Healthcare:

The versatility of medical PCs makes them invaluable in a wide range of healthcare settings. In hospitals, these devices streamline clinical workflows, allowing healthcare professionals to access patient data, order tests, and input treatment plans in real-time. Medical PCs are also utilized in operating rooms, where their sterile design and compatibility with surgical equipment enable surgeons to view critical patient data during procedures.

In addition, medical-grade computers find applications in telehealth and telemedicine, facilitating remote patient monitoring, virtual consultations, and real-time video conferencing. They can also be integrated into mobile medical carts, enabling healthcare providers to access patient information and record updates at the point of care, enhancing efficiency and reducing errors.

Medical PCs have undoubtedly transformed the healthcare landscape, enhancing patient care, improving efficiency, and ensuring data security. With their specialized features, durability, and compatibility with medical devices, these advanced computing systems are poised to play a vital role in the future of healthcare, delivering better outcomes and revolutionizing medical practices.

Do medical computers need touchscreens

Do Medical Computers Need Touchscreens?

Michelle

When people refer to their “phone” these days, it’s more than likely they mean their “smartphone.” Smartphones have become ubiquitous in our society, and are becoming increasingly necessary for everyday life. But what caused these smartphones to take over their older cousins? One of the defining features that played a large role is the humble touchscreen. Touchscreens have become a must-have for phones for the ease of use they create. As  the adoption of smartphones and even tablets into the workplace have shown, touchscreens play an important role in the evolution of technology and how we use it. But what about their use in the medical field, do medical computers need touchscreens?

Why Medical Computers Need Touchscreens

Medical computers work perfectly in the medical setting. As such, we can broaden this question out a bit more and consider whether computers need touchscreens. On a smartphone, touchscreens allow for a style of control that mouses and keyboards lack: gestures. 

A gesture refers to the ways in which your touch(es) can be interpreted by a touchscreen enabled phone, tablet, or computer. For instance, you’ve probably “pinched” your phone’s screen before to zoom out on a photo — that’s a type of gesture. Standard computers are also capable of zooming out on a photo, but often have dedicated buttons or keyboard shortcuts to make these functions happen. With touchscreen computers, these gestures come across as second nature to end users. Because they are routinely using touchscreens on their phones in their daily lives, the shortcuts encapsulated in their gestures come as natural.

In a literal sense, no, medical computers do not NEED touchscreens. However, when taking into consideration ease of use, efficiency and practicality, the need for touchscreen medical computers is compelling.

With touchscreen computers, staff are able to interact with computers in a much more intuitive fashion than they could do with mouse and keyboard shortcuts. This can lead to increased staff productivity. 

Versatility 

medical computers

Touchscreens are completely optional, there are no drawbacks to the user experience with the inclusion of one on a medical computer. Medical computers with touchscreens like the Medix T22B are completely capable of being used with a mouse and keyboard. Users who may be less inclined to use touchscreens can treat the screen just like any other monitor. Staff will fall into a mix of using both the touchscreen and their mouse and keyboard fluidly to accomplish tasks. Computers with touchscreens allow doctors and nurses to quickly zoom in on data or pick information cells in EHR software with just a tap.

Stay Progressive with Your Medical Equipment Selection

Gen Z is hitting the workforce in increasing numbers, taking their intimate knowledge of smartphones and computers with them. By selecting medical computers with touchscreens for your hospital, you are helping improve the way your medical staff can perform their job. For more information, contact Tangent Sales today.

RFID Ready Medical Computers

RFID Ready Medical Computers

Tangent Writing Team

What Is RFID?

RFID stands for Radio-Frequency Identification. The technology standard is made up of RFID tags and readers. These tags have small radio receivers and transmitters inside them. When in contact with a reader, the tag will respond and transmit information it is carrying to the reader. 

These tags can be used for a wide variety of tracking applications across the hospital. One area in which they can be used is in the tracking of patients in the hospital. Patients can have tags built right into their wristbands. These wristbands can then be used to access various doors and areas in the hospital. Your facilities team can set up each wristband to allow for certain privileges and access to specific areas. With these tags, you can ensure that the right people are in the hospital in the right areas. 

Medical Computers With Wireless Readers

RFID readers are the other half of the RFID equation. They pick up the information from tags and display it on devices. Many medical computers rely on clunky RFID reader adapters. These adapters take up ports on the medical computer, as well as desk space. Further, they are prone to being accidentally disconnected and lost.

22b-24b-main-new-medical-computer

Medical computers like the Medix 22B feature an integrated SSO RFID. This reader allows doctors and nurses to quickly and easily sign onto the medical computer with ease. They can simply wave their enabled badge to the medical computer’s reader to gain access to their computer. This solves two problems in one. 

First, your medical staff need strong, long, and complex passwords. By having your IT department tie badges to safe passwords, your hospital can have an increased layer of cyber security. Second, this allows your medical staff to have long passwords without having to remember them exactly or input them slowly everytime they access their computer.

RFID Ready Medical Computers

RFID tags and readers are quickly becoming a required tool in every workplace, including the hospital. Medical computers with built-in readers help your hospital stay on top of the future and prepare for what’s next. Make sure your hospital has the right tools by calling Tangent Sales today and asking about their range of RFID enabled devices.

Customizable Medical Grade Tablets

Medical Tablets

Michelle

EN 60601-1 Certification 

Among the most important features for medical grade devices is EN 60601-1 Certification. Medical tablets with the certification are shielded from Electromagnetic interference both from receiving and also from producing it. EN 60601-1 is a certification that distinguishes a medical tablet from a consumer grade medical tablet. 

Medical Tablets with Antimicrobial Surfaces 

When you think of tablets, you probably first think of the ones available to consumers. These tablets are designed for home use, but have increasingly found a home in the commercial and creative world. Despite their growing popularity in the workforce, they have some fatal flaws that make them a poor choice for use in the medical world. For starters, nearly all of them lack an antimicrobial enclosure.

An antimicrobial enclosure is a medical grade tablet casing that mitigates the growth of pathogens across the tablet. These coatings help reduce the spread of germs in a hospital. Traditional tablets lack these coatings, and can pose a serious risk as they are passed around from one worker to another. 

Medical Tablets also feature components designed to run medical programs. The T13 from Tangent can be customized to include an Intel Core I7 Kaby Lake processor. This processor is more than fast enough to run all the electronic health records and medical programs your hospital employs with ease. 

With up to 32 gigabytes of RAM, the T13 from Tangent is a multitasking machine. It can run numerous applications at once without lag. Doctors and nurses won’t have to pick and choose which programs they can run, they can simply trust that their equipment is capable of doing what is needed.

Customization Options For Medical Grade Tablets

Tangent offers a wide range of customization options for their medical grade tablets. This helps ensure that they can be a dynamic part of your hospital’s arsenal, capable of taking on multiple roles. The T13 from Tangent can be customized with different processors and amounts of RAM. Tangent’s T13 also features hot-swap batteries. 

Hot-swap batteries from Tangent are removable batteries that can be replaced without interrupting a medical grade tablet while in use. Simply remove one battery, put it on an external charger, and swap out a freshly charged one to have continuous use of the tablet.

The ability to operate redundantly makes the T13 great for pop-up clinics or other non stationary applications. 

The T13 features a front facing camera, RFID reader, Barcode Scanner, and much more. There are countless roles for the T13 in any hospital. Some applications can be to catalog inventory in the pharmacy, keep track of medication en route to patients, and serve as a communication device. 

Customize Your Hospital With Tangent

Tangent’s line of medical grade tablets are designed to help keep your hospital running efficiently. For more information about Tangent’s tablet offerings, contact Tangent today.

medical grade computers vesa mounting

Medical Grade Computers For VESA Mounting Systems

Admin

This pandemic has taught hospitals a number of lessons. They have had to be resourceful with PPE, adapt to ever-changing guidelines, and always be ready to accept change. Above all, your hospital has learned to be efficient with its resources. Standardization exists to aid in efficiency. Needles sizes come in certain standards, as do surgeon scalpels. One area that you may not associate with standardization is your computer monitor’s mount. Nearly all mounting systems are VESA mounts, but not every computer is compatible with these systems. Medical grade computers should be VESA compliant to avoid unneeded adapters, maintenance, and cut down on inefficiencies.   

What Is Vesa Mounting?

The VESA Mounting Interface Standard, which is also referred to as the Flat Display Mounting Interface, is a collection of standards that applies to wall mounts. Specifically, VESA standards encompass the mounting of panel monitors, televisions, and other digital displays on walls or mounts of any variety. The standard was created in 1997 and has seen widespread adoption for its ease of use and rigid design. VESA mounting is used in nearly every industry, as well as in homes everywhere. It is one of the most common mounting standards. Even for mounts that are not VESA compliant, many adapters exist to ensure that they are always compatible.

The benefit of using medical grade computers that are VESA compliant is their ability to function right out of the box. Therefore your IT team will not have to worry about finding adapters to mount the computers onto your existing desk and wall mounts. Being VESA compliant also ensures that spare parts are always readily available from a variety of sources, and cuts down on the amount of inventory your IT needs in spare parts. Having all of your medical grade computers use VESA mounting keeps things organized and easily understood by all staff.

Tangent medical grade computers are VESA compliant, and can be mounted on a variety of different systems. They all feature four threaded holes in the correct rectangular pattern to be mounted on movable arms, desks, walls, and medical carts.

Medical Grade Computers That Are VESA Compliant

E22B and E24B from Tangent: built for emergency room use Medical PC
E24B from Tangent

Medical Grade Computers like the E22B from Tangent feature VESA mounting systems. The E22B also has a full touchscreen. Therefore doctors and nurses can use the E22B while it is mounted to a wall, without needing a mouse or keyboard. It can be used in small offices or spaces where a full desk is not practical. It can also serve on mounted arms, allowing doctors to place the computer wherever they need.

Tangent: Efficiency at Its Finest 

Standardization has been used throughout the industrial and digital era to make systems and processes more efficient. Keep your hospital running smoothly and maintenance issues down by using VESA compliant medical grade computers. For more information, contact Tangent Sales today.

medical pcs with removable batteries

Medical PC With Removable Batteries

Admin

Hospitals are dynamic workplaces. As this pandemic has shown, hospital administrators need to be willing to change up their strategies constantly. This may mean bringing on more staff at some times, or completely shifting around a hospital’s layout in others. Many hospitals have had to set up popup clinics in their parking lot during this pandemic. These clinics provide testing, vaccinations, and more. While some hospitals were prepared to create such popups, others were not. They had to use their office medical computers attached to external power generators in these outdoor clinics. This sort of situation and others can be streamlined with the use of a medical PC with removable batteries.

Why Removable Batteries Are Important In A Medical PC

Hospitals have adapted to the digital era at a breakneck pace. Over the course of the pandemic, they have transformed primary care with Telehealth, and created new methods of treatment. Nurse medical carats have seen an immense evolution. Each one is now equipped with a medical PC in order to run various programs. The medical PC has become a vital platform for these carts, allowing nurses to use a variety of tools that are plugged into it.

But one major downside to these carts using medical computers now is their reliance on battery power. A cart typically has a battery, or their medical PC does, that requires time out of service to recharge. This can effectively cut your fleet’s usable time by a third or more. But with Removable batteries that can be swapped out, your fleet of carts can enjoy 100% battery uptime. If a medical PC can store multiple batteries, a nurse can simply swap out a low one for a fresh one, and then place the low one on an external charge. 

Tangent employs this hot-swap battery technology in their lineup of medical computers. A Tangent medical PC is careful to drain one battery at a time, instead of drawing from two or more simultaneously. This helps make charging simply and easy for staff.

Medical PC With Hot-Swap Batteries

Medix T24B

The Medix T24B is one such medical PC from Tangent. The T24B comes with three Hot-Swap Batteries. These batteries can be routinely swapped out to keep the T24B running for hours. This makes it perfect for popup clinics, where it can run entirely on battery power for the entire work day.

Other medical computers like the E22B can run on a 24/7 basis thanks to its hot-swap batteries. The E22B is perfect for medical carts, and features standard VESA mounting to fit anywhere your hospital requires.

E22B and E24B from Tangent: built for emergency room use Medical PC
E24B from Tangent

Tangent: Built To Run 24/7

Not every medical PC is built equal. Many are unable to run on a 24/7 basis without being plugged into an outlet. Tangent has designed medical computers that are up to the task of operating whenever and wherever they are needed. For more information, contact Tangent Sales today.

Medical Computers the tech devices hospitals rely on

Medical Computers: The Tech Devices Hospitals Rely On

Michelle

Commercial computers have found a home in offices, restaurants, and other places of business. But when it comes to the medical setting, standard computers are sorely lacking. A typical computer doesn’t have to be as sanitary as a medical computer as they are rarely in a sterile environment,. Designers create medical computers specifically for use in hospitals, with cleanliness and performance always factored into their design.

How Medical Computers Perform Better In Hospitals.

 Most computers feature a fan-based cooling system. This fan constantly circulates air throughout a computer, keeping its delicate components cool enough to operate. A side effect of this is that computers quickly build up dust. Without proper maintenance, this dust can reduce a computer’s lifespan. Worse, this dust build up poses a health risk, and can harbor pathogens.

E22B and E24B from Tangent: built for emergency room use Medical PC
E24B from Tangent

Medical computers use a fanless cooling system to prevent overheating. A medical computer like the Medix E22B from Tangent uses a passive cooling system to dissipate its heat. Because of this, it has no bulky fan to cause dust buildup. The Medix E22B is perfect for situations where dust can cause serious damage.

Antimicrobial Enclosures For Better Sanitation

Standard computers also lack one key feature that can help keep hospitals clean: an antimicrobial enclosure. Medical computers that sport antimicrobial enclosures can help promote a cleaner work environment for your staff. An antimicrobial coating is present on these computers which mitigates the growth of harmful pathogens across the computer’s surfaces. 

Tangent medical grade computers are the best medical computers
M24T Medical Computer

Not only are medical computers Antimicrobial, they can also be water resistant. The M24T from Tangent features an IP-rated water resistant touchscreen. The front panel of the M24T is IP65 rated as well as washable with standard cleaning agents. With both an antimicrobial enclosure and water resistance, medical computers are built to be clean and promote a safer hospital.

Medical Computers: Unmatched Performance

One of the biggest struggles with using standard PCs is their lack of power. Small commercial computers are lacking in many areas. Their CPUs handle easy-to-run office programs, but not much else. Their storage may make use of an SSD, but most likely uses a slower disk-based HDD. Because they don’t have a high amount of RAM, they are unable to multitask effectively.

medical computers
Tangent Medix T22B Medical Computers

Medical computers are designed to alleviate these issues. The T22B from Tangent features a robust Intel processor capable of handling the medical programs your doctors rely on. It utilizes a NVMe SSD, which can run up to 35 times faster than traditional HDD systems. Best of all, the T22B can fit up to 32 GB of RAM, allowing your doctors to run numerous programs at once. With these fast components, the T22B will be able to service your staff today and tomorrow.

Tangent: Trusted And Relied On

When it comes to outfitting your hospital with the latest technology, Tangent medical computers are unparalleled. Their robust cleanliness features and lightning fast components make them the perfect choice for any hospital. For more information, contact Tangent Sales today.

medical computers with built in nfc readers

Medical Computers With NFC Readers

Michelle

Wireless communication is playing an increasingly important role in Healthcare. From doctors transitioning away from pagers to smartphones, to their increasing reliance on email communications: hospitals rely on wireless communication. But one area of wireless communications that is easy to look over is near-field communication (NFC). These devices allow your doctors, nurses, and medical staff to easily and safely perform routine tasks in the blink of an eye. With medical computers that have NFC readers, your hospital can take full advantage of NFC devices — without needing a mountain of adapters and dongles.

What Is NFC?

NFC enabled devices can be us3ed for digital payments, sign-ins, and more

NFC is a type of communication protocol that allows for two electronic devices within 4 centimeters to communicate. This technology also falls into the broader RFID scope, which encompasses many types of communication protocols of various lengths and capabilities. These devices specifically however are designed for situations where one device “taps” another. You may have a debit card or smartphone capable of making payments with a simple tap — that is made possible by NFC technology.

NFC Applications In Healthcare

There are many different applications for NFC tag technology. We’ve already gone over their use for payments, but they have many other uses as well. In the medical field, tags can be used for a number of applications:

  • Building Access: tags can be used as “keys” in order to access sensitive rooms, keep the public out of specific areas, and keep medicine cabinets locked. tags can also track specific entries and exits made by tag holders.
  • Digital Access: tags can be used by doctors and medical staff to access various levels of digital information. For example, electronic health records can be kept behind a digital wall, made accessible only by medical staff with the proper clearance level on their tag.
  • Smart Patient IDs: Patient wristbands can be equipped with tags for better tracking and monitoring. On-call nurses can easily scan these wristbands to get a quick list of a patient’s allergies, dietary restrictions, and more.

Best Medical Computers With Built-In NFC Readers

Medix T24B

Tangent offers a number of medical computers with a wide range of RFID, Smart Card, and NFC capabilities. The T24B from Tangent comes with an optional NFC reader that can handle all of your digital reading needs. On top of these, the T24B also comes equipped with an optional RFID and Smart Card reader, covering all of the close-communication bases.

Tangent: Connect Better

Tangent strives to create technology that hospitals can not only use today, but also well into the future. NFC readers have become widely adopted in the healthcare industry, and their applications are near limitless. Medical computers from Tangent that feature these readers can help your hospital stay connected. For more information, contact Tangent Sales today.