RFID Ready Medical Computers

RFID Ready Medical Computers

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.

Medical Grade PCs With New And Legacy Ports

Medical Grade Computers With New And Legacy Ports

The medical grade computers of today look a lot different from their predecessors. They are smaller, faster, and more hygienic than earlier computers. While you have probably noticed most of these changes, there is one subtle area that is easy to forget: input and output ports. Input and output ports, shortened as IO ports, have changed dramatically in the last 20 years. USB ports and cables have taken over as the dominant method to transfer data. However, many devices still use legacy ports, such as serial ports. These serial ports support many medical devices that hospitals continue to rely on.

What Are Serial Ports?

Serial ports work in much the same way that standard USB ports do today from a functional perspective. Serial ports can be used to connect printers, PC peripherals, and legacy medical devices to medical grade computers. From a technical perspective however, they differ drastically.

The term “serial ports” actually refers to a collection of different standard ports, much like how there are different versions of USB in use today. These ports are also referred to as COM ports, however this term actually refers to the software mark for reading the hardware port itself.  Three COM port standards were widely used, with the most common being the RS-232 version. This version is sometimes also referred to as RS-485/422. 

Do Medical Grade Computers Still Need RS-232 Ports?

RS-232 ports were once widely used for data transfer between devices. As USB took over serial communication ports, RS-232 ports were removed from motherboards to make room for them. Likewise, devices switched over to USB cables to better connect to new medical grade computers. 

While the transition to faster USB largely made sense, in some niche areas it did not. Medical devices that were meant to last for years were built with COM ports in mind. These devices are still compatible with modern medical grade computers in every other regard, but required adapters. 

While adapters are certainly fine for most applications, they can become a hassle when they inevitably become lost. As adapters require USB ports, there’s a good chance that doctors will have to unplug them when not using their legacy devices. Before long, doctors lose these adapters, giving IT more headaches.

Medical Grade Computers With Serial Ports

Not every medical grade computer company stopped including these ports, however. Many Tangent medical computers still come with legacy ports like RS-232. The Medix T-24B comes equipped with 4 DB9 serial ports standard. Doctors can make use of up to four legacy medical devices at once, without needing to keep track of a variety of dongles to do so. 

The KW Series from Tangent also features 2 RJ48 Serial ports for legacy devices as well. With a wide range of IO ports to choose from, Tangent’s lineup of medical grade computers has something for every medical device.

Keeping Legacy Equipment Online

Tangent medical grade computers are built with the reality of hospitals in mind. Sometimes your doctors and nurses will use older equipment that functions fine on a routine basis. Tangent’s computers are designed to keep this legacy equipment functional, and your hospital moving. For more information, contact Tangent Sales today.

medical computers with built in nfc readers

Medical Computers With NFC Readers

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.

Tangent medical computers for medical imaging

Medical Computers For Medical Imaging

Medical imaging has been one of the premier medical advancements of the last century. Doctors can utilize x rays, MRI machines, and tests to get a look inside a patient’s body. These processes have led to better diagnostic capabilities and a more precise medical process. But these imaging technologies are only as good as the equipment they are connected to. Your doctors need the right medical computers to receive medical imaging files, and Tangent has them.

Medical Imaging Made Easy

Medical imaging typically requires a device such as an MRI or xray machine. These machines do the heavy lifting of creating images for your doctors to investigate. But the medical computer that displays these images is equally important.

Medical computers like the M24T from Tangent come equipped with a wide touchscreen. Your doctors can use this screen to get a full and clear view of the medical image they are parsing. 

m24t medical grade computer
Tangent M24T Medical Computer

The touchscreen also allows your doctors to enhance and zoom in on images to get a closer look. The M24T’s SSD combined with its 8th generation Intel processor ensure that your doctors can manipulate and study these medical images without lag.

Better Diagnostics 

Medical computers also have the ability to send and receive medical images with ease. Once a file has been transferred to a medical computer, your medical staff can send it to any other point in the hospital. 

For instance, let’s say a nurse is drawing blood. They then send the blood to the lab for testing. The test results can easily be sent via a medical computer right back to the doctor that ordered them. The doctor can then parse the test results and make accurate decisions.

This is also true for medical images from MRI or xray machines. In both cases, doctors are able to quickly send results to patients, lab technicians, or other doctors for second opinions. They can also order print outs for physical viewing.

Safe and Sanitary Medical Computers

Medical computers from Tangent like the E24B all feature antimicrobial coatings. These coatings prevent harmful bacteria from proliferating on the surface of the medical computer. 

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

This means that while your doctors are using their computer for medical imaging, they won’t have to worry about potentially spreading germs on it. The fully washable screens of Tangent computers are IP rated for water resistance, and can handle regular cleanings.

Improve With Tangent Medical Computers

Tangent medical computers are designed to help doctors do their tasks, whatever they may be. When it comes to medical imaging,  they can help doctors make clear and concise treatment decisions. For more information, contact Tangent Sales today.

Tangent medical computers: 5 uses

5 Uses For Medical Computers

It may seem like the uses of medical computers mirror those of traditional computers, and that the two are interchangable. They both send emails, can handle spreadsheets, and can access the internet. But the uses of medical computers are far more exact and tailored to the hospital environment. Here are five of the top uses for medical computers.

Medical Imaging With Medical Computers

Medical imaging requires the use of complex machinery like X-ray, ultrasound, and MRI Machines. Hospital staff nearly always need a reliable medical computer in order to operate these machines. Tangent medical computers like the M24T feature a lightning fast NVMe SSD. This allows the medical computer to load medical imaging software in a snap, and perform tasks as fast as your machinery will allow.

m24t medical grade computer
Tangent M24T Medical Computer

Telehealth Appointments

The pandemic continues to make clear the importance of telehealth appointments in the medical space. These appointments allow patients who may struggle to reach the hospital a quick and convenient way to get the medical care they need. Tangent computers all feature front facing cameras. These cameras are perfect for giving your patients the face-to-face time with their doctors that they need.

Patient Monitoring

Just as medical computers can help your doctors connect with patients, they can also help them to monitor important medical information. Remote monitoring technology coupled with Tangent computers can allow your doctors to receive real time information from their patients. They can then use this data to recommend treatments, call patients in for emergency care, and generally help patients in a way not possible before.

Medical Computers For Surgery Procedures

Surgery rooms need to be sterile, and traditional computers can detract from a room’s sanitation. They can become breeding grounds for harmful bacteria and also circulate dusty air throughout the room. Tangent medical computers like the E24B feature an antimicrobial enclosure that mitigates the growth of harmful bacteria. They also come with a fanless cooling system to keep your computers from circulating air. 

Tangent E24B Medical Grade Computer
Tangent E24B Medical Computer

Rapid Electronic Health Records Access

Your doctors need to be able to access their patient’s information quickly. The same NVMe SSD slot that Tangent computers feature can also be used to store Electronic Health Record software. This allows the software to boot up and load files quickly and accurately.

Choose Tangent

There are plenty of use cases for medical computers in the hospital. But not every medical computer is built equally. Tangent goes to great lengths to ensure that each medical computer by them is built to last in a medical environment. For more information, contact Tangent Sales today. 

Medix E22B

Medix E22B: Medical Computer For Hospital Use

The last thing your doctors want to be worrying about during an emergency is their equipment. There are over 130 million emergency room visits made by Americans each year according to the Center for Disease Control. That’s around 42 visits for every 100 people. When these sorts of emergencies occur, your doctors need to be ready to act. They cannot wait for their equipment to charge, or wait for slow software to start up. Doctors need the fastest medical computers available for emergency use.

The Medix E22B from Tangent is the perfect medical computer for emergency rooms. While other medical computers are suited for surgery, recovery, and billing room use, the E22B is a versatile machine that can rapidly adapt to the many demands of the emergency room.

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

Hot-Swap Batteries Inside Medical Computers

When one emergency occurs, the last thing your hospital staff needs is another. Sadly, some emergencies can’t be helped. Natural disasters, fires, and power outages are becoming increasingly common and can strike at nearly any time. When these sorts of emergencies do occur, your hospital’s utilities could be jeopardized. 

Hospitals utilize backup generators to keep their most vital operations flowing during power outages. However these generators cannot supply power to every point in a hospital that needs it. Some services must be stopped. With the Medix E22B, power outages don’t mean a stop in service.

The Medix E22B features hot-swap battery technology. The medical computer can be outfitted with three removable batteries. These batteries can be swapped out to charge on a separate charging dock throughout the day, keeping the E22B operating on a constant basis. The E22B also features a barrel plug for traditional wall outlets.

During a blackout, the E22B medical computer can run up 24 hourswithout needing to draw power from emergency sources. This can give your doctors ample time to see the remainder of their patients, finish vital work, and help perform emergency services.

Antimicrobial Medical Computers

The last thing your equipment should do during an emergency is cause more harm than good. Every medical computer from Tangent is designed with an antimicrobial coating. This coating reduces the spread of pathogens on the surface of the medical computer by mitigating the growth of bacteria. This can help create a safer, cleaner emergency room in your hospital.

Lightning Fast Solid State Drives

Medical software can be slow to load. That’s not to say it’s designed poorly, but rather that there is a lot to load. Medical records, patient information, and machine-learning tools all require time and disk space to adequately load. But this process can be greatly sped up with a NVMe solid state drive inside your medical computers. The Medix E22B from Tangent features a M.2 solid state drive. This slot allows your medical software programs to load up to 15 times faster than with traditional hard drive solutions.

Create A Better Emergency Room With Tangent

Emergency rooms are crucial to the well being of your local community. Make sure your doctors are outfitted with the best equipment while serving there. Contact Tangent Sales today for more information.

fanless medical computers from Tangent

Why Medical Grade Computers Need To Be Fanless

During these hot summer months, turning on a fan can help you cool off. Fans are everywhere, from residential homes to restaurants and even offices. But while fans certainly have a place in our lives, there is one area they simply don’t belong: medical grade computers. In addition to cooling people off, fans have the side effect of moving dust, allergens, and pathogens throughout the air. When it comes to the hospital, fans inside computers can potentially cause a number of health issues. Fanless medical grade computers reduce these risks by using a passive cooling system that is safer and more hygienic for hospital use.

Why Medical Grade Computers Should Not Have Fans

Nearly every computer utilizes some form of cooling system. These cooling systems help cool off a computer’s CPU as it works, preventing long term damage from overheating. Most computers utilize a simple fan-based cooling system that circulates air through the computer’s chassis to cool off the CPU. While this works fine for some cases, there are some severe drawbacks to fans.

Firstly, fans circulate the air in a room. Even small fans attached to medical grade computers circulate some amount of air in a room. Particles in the air such as dust and pathogens end up caught in a computer’s chassis, where they can accumulate and grow. These pathogens are given a warm place to grow before being released into the air. For places such as the recovery room or surgery room, this can be a potential hazard to patients.

T-13 Medical Tablet From Tangent
T-13 Fanless Medical Tablet From Tangent

Dust buildup also affects the performance of your medical grade computers. In order for a fan-based cooling system to work, air needs to be able to flow freely in and out of a unit. When dust builds up, the airflow is restricted and the computer’s CPU is unable to cool down. Even a small buildup can cause a big temperature increase for a CPU. This can lead to long term damage and a shortened lifespan for your medical computers, and also cause your IT department to schedule regular cleanings.

Fanless Medical Grade Computers

Tangent M24T Fanless Medical Computer

All of the problems with fan-based cooling systems can be easily avoided with fanless medical grade computers. A computer like the M24T from Tangent features a fanless cooling system. This passive cooling system keeps the M24T’s CPU from overheating without needing to circulate air. This passive cooling system also allows this medical grade computer to have virtually no openings in its chassis, mitigating dust buildup inside the unit.

Fanless Is Freeing

Every medical grade computer from Tangent features a fanless cooling system that keeps the computer running — without putting your patients at risk. Free your hospital from the risks that fan based computers impose. Contact Tangent Sales today for more information.

tangent medical computers that have revolutionized nursing

How Medical Computers Have Revolutionized Nursing

Nurses play a number of roles in the hospital. Whereas doctors work in specialized sections of the medical field, nurses play a less standardized role. Nurses wear many hats throughout their workday. They may start the day rooming patients and end it by ensuring a patient’s new medication regimen won’t have negative interactions. Because of this, nurses need equipment that can be used in a variety of applications and situations. Modern medical computers have revolutionized nursing by offering nurses a single device that can aid them throughout their entire workday.

Recording Information Directly Onto Electronic Health Records

One of the primary duties of nurses is to ensure patient information is accurately recorded. Before the advent of medical computers, Nurses would use paper-based health records to accomplish this task. They would pull a patient’s information from an archive and add any additional notes they took during an appointment. While this system surely worked for the time, it had a number of drawbacks.

Paper-based health records were largely reliant on handwritten information, which was easily misinterpreted. A nurse also had to physically go to an archive to pull the correct file, a process that took valuable time. Electronic Health Records (EHRs) solved these problems and more by converting patient information into digital files.

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

Now nurses can easily pull up patient information and view it nearly instantaneously. Medical computers like the M24T from Tangent have upped the speed at which nurses can view and record information on EHRs. The M24T features an M.2 solid state drive in an NVMe slot. This solid state drive slot allows for loading speeds of up to 30 times faster than traditional disk-based hard drives.

Analyze Patient Information And Diagnostic Results

Of course, accessing and viewing patient information is only one part of a nurse’s duties. They are also responsible for being the first person to view new information. Before medical computers, nurses would have to view x-rays and blood tests by hand to determine if they warranted an additional response from a doctor. This practice still exists today, but has been greatly augmented by medical computers.

Tangent E24B Medical Computer
Tangent E24B Medical Computer

Now nurses can instantly receive x-rays, blood test results, and lab work as soon as it is completed. Touchscreen medical computers like the E24B from Tangent allow nurses to zoom in on x-rays for closer, more accurate looks. Nurses can also quickly see which new medications are being recommended to a patient, and use the same medical computer to look up potential negative interactions. Depending on the software your hospital employs, some of these processes may even be automated for your nurses. Regardless, medical computers have transformed and optimized the role of nursing.

Revolutionize Your Hospital With Tangent Medical Computers

The duties of a nurse have remained largely the same in the last 20 years. However the ways in which these duties are accomplished has seen a shift. Medical computers allow nurses to do their jobs in an efficient and optimal manner. Contact Tangent Sales today for more information.

medical grade computer use

4 Reasons Why Medical Grade Computers Are Used In The Hospital

Medical grade computers have become a staple in hospitals. Doctors use them to check up on electronic medical records, send correspondences, and make accurate diagnoses. Medical assistants and nurses use them for their clerical duties, managing inventory, and rooming patients. While the many uses of medical grade computers are thoroughly documented, some may not know why these computers specifically are used.

There are many distinct advantages that medical grade computers hold over traditional computers in the hospital. Here are four of the top reasons to use medical grade computers in the hospital. 

Antimicrobial Properties To Reduce Nosocomial Infections

Nosocomial infections are infections that are contracted from within the hospital. This may refer to a patient in recovery who comes down with the flu from exposure to a symptomatic individual. Or someone who becomes sick due to mold from within the hospital. The pandemic has shown just how serious nosocomial infections can be. Medical grade computers can help hospitals reduce the number of nosocomial infections thanks to their antimicrobial coating.

Tangent E24B Medical Computer
Tangent E24B Medical Computer

Medical grade computers like the E24B from Tangent feature a coating of an antimicrobial solution that mitigates the growth of harmful pathogens on its surface. This allows the E24B to be used by multiple people throughout the day with a lesser risk of cross contamination than with a traditional computer. Doctors and nurses work with multiple patients in a day, and the E24B’s antimicrobial coating is just one way that they can feel safer while doing so.

Fanless Design For Cleaner Environments

Cleanliness is paramount when it comes to the surgery room. One small error and a patient can quickly end up back in the hospital after recovery. Surgeons may have to use pens and paper to take notes instead of their computer for a surprising reason: the computer’s fan. Computers use fans to cool down their internal components. But the exhaust from these fans can harbor pathogens and dust, which circulates throughout a room when expelled from the computer.

Tangent M24T Medical Computer

Medical grade computers like the M24T from Tangent feature a completely fanless cooling system. This advanced cooling system allows the M24T to maintain an ideal operating temperature without compromising the cleanliness of a surgical room. Doctors can feel confident in their notetaking with fanless medical grade computers.

UL60601-Certified For Electrical Safety

Electrical hazards are some of the most troubling in the medical setting. One wrong electrical leakage can shut down vital equipment, or lead to issues with electronic medical equipment inside a patient’s body. Every medical grade computer by Tangent is UL60601-certified for electrical safety around medical equipment of all kinds. This rating ensures that each medical grade computer only works to help patients, not harm them.

IP Rated Water And Dust Resistance 

Water and dust can easily damage the delicate components inside a computer. Having an enclosed case is one way to protect a computer. IP ratings serve to rate a computer’s sealing. Tangent medical grade computers like the T13 all feature an IP 65 rated front panel. This panel is sealed as well as dust and water resistant. This means they can be regularly cleaned with traditional disinfectants, without harming the medical grade computer.

T-13 Medical Tablet from Tangent

Medical Grade Computers: Built For The Hospital

Your hospital is a site with many unique needs. Medical grade computers can help fulfill these needs, while maintaining the cleanliness and efficiency your hospital demands. Upgrade your facility with medical grade computers built for the hospital. Contact Tangent Sales today for more information.

Tangent Medical Computers

3 Workflows That Can Be Replaced With Medical Computers

Hospitals have learned a lot from this pandemic. Doctors, nurses, and medical assistants have all adapted to and overcome numerous challenges. Hospitals themselves were the site of many rapid advancements and have been pushed up years in terms of technological advancements. Yet hospitals’ workflows remain largely unchanged since the beginning of the pandemic. Hospitals should incorporate new workflows to meet the new skilled personnel and technology they employ. 

Hospitals can improve numerous workflows at once by adopting the latest medical computer technology from Tangent. Here are three that can all be accomplished with a single medical computer.

Human Milk Workflows

Keeping track of human milk has always been a necessary task in the maternity or perinatal ward. Human milk needs to be expressed, bottled, stored, and returned to the proper parent and baby multiple times a week. There is plenty of room for error in this process, but these errors can be devastating.

T-13 Medical Grade Tablet From Tangent
T-13 Medical Grade Tablet From Tangent

Reduce the chances of these errors occurring with Tangent medical computers. Medical computers like the T13 are built to facilitate human milk workflows. The T13 is a fully mobile medical computer, and able to move around the hospital with staff. Its medical grade antimicrobial components ensure that infection risks are fully mitigated. The T13 is also fully Cerner Validated for use with Cerner Millennium applications.

The T13’s Barcode scanner allows for easy tracking of expressed human milk. Simply attach a printed barcode label to a bottle of expressed milk, store it until it is needed, and rescan the bottle to pull up the receiving baby’s name, location, and specific dietary needs. Another scan of a baby’s wristband confirms the correct recipient, and that’s it! The T13 has built-in measures at every point of the human milk workflow to ensure that the right baby gets the right human milk.

Secure Login Capabilities With Medical Computers

Other medical computers by Tangent offer RFID and Smart Card reader capabilities. Each of these medical computers can use their scanners to solve another challenging workflow: secure logins.

IT professionals are constantly on the lookout for vulnerabilities in your hospital’s network, but the biggest risk remains your staff. Phishing attempts — where a hacker tries to get your employees to click a link in an email they link is legitimate —  are becoming more common with each passing day. These ransomware attacks cost hospitals a whopping $21 Billion last year alone.

The T24B with Hot-Swap batteries for Emergency Room use
The T24B with Hot-Swap batteries

In addition to keeping your staff informed on the latest best practices for cyber security, employing lengthy passwords throughout the hospital can reduce the risk of being hacked. With Tangent medical computers like the T24B can utilize their RFID and Smart Card readers to automatically login nurses, doctors, and medical assistants into their workstations. This allows employees to forgo remembering long, complex passwords while maintaining a high level of security.

24/7 Capable Medical Carts

Your hospital needs medical carts constantly. But medical carts have their own need: power. Some of these carts make use of onboard UPS systems, while others need to be charged on a regular basis. In either way, these medical carts will need to be out of commision for some period of time each day.

Tangent E24B Medical Computer
Tangent E24B Medical Computer

Your hospital can have medical carts that operate on a virtual 24/7 basis with medical computers like the E24B from Tangent. The E24B has hot swap battery technology built in, allowing for near uninterrupted power. Simply swap out the batteries with fresh ones, and recharge the old ones on their dock. Medical carts no longer have to be out of commission while charging — only their batteries. 

Get Better Workflows Today With Tangent

Better workflows start with acknowledging there is a problem to begin with. After that, it’s a mere matter of picking the best solution. Tangent offers many solutions to help better your hospital, learn more by contacting Tangent Sales today.