Cellphones (also known as mobile phones) are a part of everyday life. In the developed world, a large majority of adults have a cellphone. The use of cellphones is also becoming much more prevalent in developing countries as it enables such countries to develop a communications system without the need to install cabling. There have been various proposals for using cellphones in healthcare. However, all of these proposals have drawbacks.
Leslie, I et al., “Mobile Communications for medical care”, Final Report, 21 Apr. 2011, reports on a major study by the University of Cambridge which identified the crucial contribution that cellphone networks will make to healthcare in developed, low income and emerging countries by transferring “vital signs” and other data from local measurement devices to a central data collection and processing computer. It identified two separate industrial communities—those who make cellphones and those who make medical devices.
Ladera, D et al., “Strategic Applications Agenda Version 3”, Working Group on Leading Edge Applications, January 2010, www.emobility.eu.org, is an e-mobility study which, considered the wide implications of networked health care and stated: “Smart phones can collect measurement results automatically and wirelessly from the measuring devices and seamlessly transfer the collected data to the doctor for further analysis.”
“Healthcare unwired—new business-models delivering care anywhere” Pricewaterhouse Coopers' Health Research Institute, September 2010, is a study which addresses the opportunity presented by wide access to communications but from the perspective of the medical profession and its impact on the medical business model.
In a review in 2009, the Apple Company identified a growing demand for using its iPhone® as part of a communications chain from medical devices to practitioners and others (see http://medicalconnectivity.com/2009/03/19/apple-targets-health-care-with-iphone-30-os/).
These reports are based on the use of existing medical devices and existing cellphone technology and therefore require the presence of both a medical device industry and a cellphone industry. It is an object of the present invention to enable collection of health-related, data without the need for both these industries.
Tablet computers and portable personal computers are also becoming small enough to be used as PHHCDs. Many such devices also include communications facilities such as WiFi or wireless telephone connectivity.
Personal, digital assistant devices (“PDAs”) are also now well-known, and include a processor for enabling a user to store and retrieve personal data.