PDAs
...eries are completely ran out or if they are taken out of the machine, there is a one-minute period to replace the batteries before all the data are lost. Since PDA has to be powered by batteries, low power consumption is one of the most critical factors. Currently a 3-D rendering engine is proposed to be integrated as a principal part of a PDA chip. The implementation of this new technology would basically eliminates the unnecessary power consumption and extend the battery life.
3.0 PRODUCTS
According to Gartner, Inc., a well known research and advisory firm, sales of handhelds in the United States will increase by 300 percent, and by about 28 million over the next four years. A few years ago, buying a PDA was simple: the 5-ounce, monochrome-display Palm III was practically the only option. Now, consumers have to compare many PDA units before buying one.
PDAs can be categorized according to the operating systems they use. The main operating systems available in the market are Palm and Pocket PC. The Palm OS has been licensed to manufacturers such as Palm, Handspring, Sony, and IBM. On the other hand, Casio, Compaq, and Hewlett Packard manufacture the most popular Pocket PC-based PDAs.
Even though both handle contact management, calendars and to-do lists, Palm-based PDAs differ from Pocket PC-based PDAs. The Palm platform is characterized by compact and sleek hardware, a wide range of prices, and more available software. On the other hand, the Pocket PC platform is characterized by a strong, full-featured operating system, excellent built-in applications, a superior hardware platform, and higher-quality displays [1].
3.1 Size and Weight
Palm OS requires a simpler processor than Pocket PC OS. Thus, Palm-based devices are generally smaller and lighter than Pocket PC PDAs, making it highly mobile.
3.2 Battery Life
Palm-based PDAs use either AAA alkaline batteries or rechargeable lithium ion batteries. AAA batteries can last up to two months, whereas the rechargeable battery lasts only about a week but recharges within minutes. A limitation of Pocket PC-based PDAs is that they only use rechargeable lithium ion batteries, and they last less than a week.
3.3 Simplicity
Palm OS is easier to use. Users find that “it takes less clicks” to access the information they need when using the Palm OS than when using the Pocket PC OS. Even though Pocket PC uses a Windows interface (a very popular interface), users find some routines difficult to locate and use. Moreover, Palm OS almost never crashes.
3.4 Compatibility
Pocket PC-based PDAs integrate extremely well with Microsoft (MS) Office applications and files (Microsoft makes all those products). Pocket Word and Excel can read and write existing desktop files. Moreover, the higher resolution display offered by Pocket PC-based PDAs makes working with these documents easier. On the other hand, Palm OS does not have built-in Word and Excel support, although some third-party Office programs that let users work with Word and Excel files exist [2].
3.5 Software
Over 13,000 commercial software programs are available for Palm-based PDAs. In contrast, Pocket PC-based PDA owners can only choose from about 1,600 software titles [3]. However, since Pocket PC is a Microsoft product, Pocket PC-based PDAs are comparable with the common software used in PCs.
3.6 Audio
Pocket PC-based PDA units have built-in headphone jacks and a miniature version of Windows Media Player. This player works with the desktop version to convert and download songs onto the PDA. Moreover, these PDAs have voice recorders. Most Palm-based PDAs do not come with speakers; the ones that do are usually more expensive.
3.7 Modems and Internet Connectivity
Both PDA types can use modems to connect to the internet. Palm-based PDAs have optional wireless (Wifi) or Bluetooth. The Pocket PCs can use WiFi and wired Ethernet cards via a Compact Flash card slot [2].
PDAs using Palm OS are cheaper and more popular than those using the Pocket PC OS. In the year 2000, Palms accounted for about 72 percent of PDA sales [3]. However, analysts predict that by 2004, Palm’s share of the market will fall to 45 percent, whereas Pocket PC’s share will increase to 40 percent. Tables 1, 2 and 3 in the Appendix compare the prices and features of popular PDAs. Table 1 compares three Palm-based PDAs; Table 2 compares three Pocket PC-based PDAs; and Table 3 compares three different PDA cellular phones.
4.0 USES
Currently, the PDA is finding its way to consumers, especially in the medical and educational fields. Recent technological advances have allowed it to support anything from simple word processing and data transfers to micro movies and Flash animations.
The advancement in the Bluetooth technology allows for wireless data transfer for faster communication and more accurate data recording [5t, p. 2]. We discuss two areas on which the PDA has made its greatest impact: health care and education.
4.1 Medical
4.1.1 Health Care Professionals. The popularity of the PDA in the medical field resulted primarily from the nature of the profession. Health care professionals work under high pressure and in a highly mobile environment, making rounds back and forth between ambulatory clinics and medical centers. Physicians quickly adopted the PDA, finding it a much more efficient alternative to the note cards and manuals they keep in their pockets. Additionally, they can do rudimentary medical calculations, store large amounts of data, and allow for patient tracking [4t].
Probably one of the major reasons why physicians acquire a PDA is the readily accessible information on the latest drugs. Clinical drug databases, such as “ePocrates qRx,” provide details about the pharmacology of various drug classes, drug interactions, and prescription and dosage information. Also, by electronically generating and sending prescriptions, health care providers reduce medical errors because pharmacists will receive more legible prescriptions and use drug interaction checks, which come with many of the software programs [4t]. Besides a drug reference, the PDA can also be a source of popular medical texts, such as the Washington Manual of Medical Therapeutics and Griffith’s 5 Minute Clinical Consult [6t]. Having these available, within a few taps of the virtual pen, assists physicians in making better decisions for issuing particular treatments.
Another popular use of the PDA is its use as a clinical prediction tool to determine the risk of development for a certain disease state. A program called “BreastCa” calculates a woman’s chances of getting breast cancer using the Gail and Claus Models (which are two different methods of predicting the likelihood of an individual woman getting breast cancer). Kent Willyard’s “MedRules” includes clinical prediction rules based on well-established research papers from medical literature. Predicting the mortality of patients, for example, helps health care providers determine whether to admit them into the hospital or to treat them as outpatients, the latter scenario preventing an unnecessary and costly admission [6t].
4.1.2 Emergency Personnel. In Pennsylvania, when ambulance personnel go on their runs, they are required by state law to complete an administrative record and a statewide, pre-hospital trip report. Problems arise when they spend time filling out the forms because of the possibility of the slips of paper being lost in transit or the hastily written down information becoming illegible. Dr. Douglas Kupas, an Emergency Department physician in Geisinger recognized the need for a “better, quicker, way to communicate patient information to receiving hospitals, particularly, for trauma patients in rural areas” [3t]. Roger Bressler, a paramedic from Alpha Community Ambulance Services, Inc. in State College, Pa., estimated that Alpha personnel spend one to two hours, for every 12-hour period of ambulance runs, preparing trip sheets. Using Palm III handheld computers, they can accomplish the same record keeping task in about fifteen minutes[3t].
Pennsylvania ambulance services such as Danville Ambulance and Alpha Community Ambulance Services, Inc. now use PDAs in field trials. They use a software developed at the Penn State University, which uses a small diagram of the human body on the PDA screen to quickly enter the type and location of a victim’s injuries. By simply clicking on the injured parts of the body, ambulance personnel are able to record injuries and send them either via a wireless-cellular modem or using infrared technology. The use of the PDA eliminates the inaccuracy of the data and reduces the time it takes to complete the task [3t].
This new application is currently being used in field trials, but it is apparent that the use of the device has the potential to enhance the efficiency of ambulance personnel. Eddie Crow, an Applied Research Laboratory (ARL) associate research engineer, admits that the use of the technology has improved the overall emergency response to vehicle accident victims by sending accurate and complete health status information to the emergency department.
4.1.3 Patient Education. Not only does the PDA help keep health care professionals updated about recent medical information, but they also help them answer their patients’ frequently asked questions. With a PDA, the physicians can educate their patients right in the exam room. For example, a PDA can serve as an anatomy reference tool that can enhance a patient’s understanding of a certain disease and the treatment of it. It also can access the latest information on multiple drug interactions. If a patient was worried about the effects of taking more than one drug at a time, his or her doctor will be able to access that information immediately using a PDA. Having all the information he needs in one small device saves the time lost in searching his notebooks and manuals.
Also, the PDA can be a powerful motivational tool for the patients. By putting actual numbers to their own unique situation, patients more effectively see the benefit of a behavioral change in their daily habits. For example, if an overweight man wants to know his ideal weight, his health care provider can enter his height and weight into a PDA program called “Himando BMI.” This program will calculate his target body weight in a matter of seconds and even provides recommendations on how the patient should change his lifestyle. By simply displaying the results to the patient, the physician is able to convince the man to make a few changes in his daily routine [7t].
4.1.4 Problems. Although it seems that the PDA is a revolutionary advancement in health care, there are problems that inhibit the implementation of it in health care centers. For instance, the cost of integrating the system into hospitals has prevented a wide use of the device. Not only do the health-care centers need to buy the devices, but they also require servers and network synchronization stations. An additional problem is compatibility issues with current hospital management systems. In addition, security has become a major concern because of the large amount of patient information that is traveling through the computer networks and the possibility of PDA units being stolen. With so many computer hackers out there, security systems are constantly being developed, and the question of reliability becomes an issue [4t, pp. 3-4].
Additional problems arise due to the lack of time physicians in training have to invest in mastering a handheld device. They are too busy in their medical studies to learn about the new device and how to use them. Also, some are not as skilled or comfortable with computer technology, and they are further discouraged from using them by the inconsistent stability and complexity of the different platforms. It seems to create more stress on their already busy lives, and the possibility of having a malfunctioning device is an even greater discouragement [6t].
[1t] “Survey reports PDAs enhance patient care,”