Sprint and Calgary Scientific partner to market ResolutionMD Mobile medical imaging solution

Sep 15 2010

Sprint (NYSE:S) and Calgary Scientific have partnered to market a first of its kind medical imaging solution that could contribute to better patient outcomes, faster treatment decisions and a reduced financial burden on long-term patient care.

“As our nation's population ages, and the number of people with acute care requirements and chronic illnesses continue to grow, mobile technologies can enable caregivers to treat patients remotely and in a more cost-effective manner”

Calgary Scientific, a leading innovator in advanced visualization solutions and web-enabling platforms, and Sprint, will offer ResolutionMD^™ Mobile, powered by PureWeb^®, to provide physicians with advanced visualization of medical images directly on their HTC EVO^™ 4G. ResolutionMD Mobile is HIPPA compliant and Calgary Scientific is seeking FDA approval for diagnostics in the hand-held device category.

In acute scenarios, ResolutionMD Mobile powered by PureWeb could speed access to patient information and medical images, potentially cutting healthcare administrative costs and improving the odds of saving lives. For example, in the United States, stroke is the number three leading cause of death and the number one discharge diagnosis to chronic care facilities, costing over $70 billion each year. One of the greatest challenges facing acute stroke care is access to neurological expertise, particularly in remote and rural settings. Without access to a neurologist, the vast majority of patients that would benefit from direct access to this expertise go untreated. With ResolutionMD Mobile provided on HTC EVO 4G, attending or acute care physicians can have real-time access to specialists such as neurologists, regardless of where the physicians and patients are located.

Sprint converged its wireline IP network and 3G and 4G wireless networks to create a single, secure platform for the breakthrough imaging solution. According to Tim Donahue, Sprint vice president-Industry Solutions, ResolutionMD Mobile and the PureWeb platform harness the power of the Sprint networks to provide state-of-the-art healthcare.

"As our nation's population ages, and the number of people with acute care requirements and chronic illnesses continue to grow, mobile technologies can enable caregivers to treat patients remotely and in a more cost-effective manner," said Donahue. "Our strategy is to provide a holistic communications environment that enables caregivers to access the information they need within the hospital or anywhere in the country covered by the Sprint 3G or 4G networks or Wi-Fi."

In addition to providing instant access to patient images, ResolutionMD Mobile will also provide reports and high-quality video for clinical consultations so physicians can provide patients with bedside care from remote locations.

Providing physicians with remote access to medical records has traditionally been fraught with significant obstacles. One of the largest concerns is that data stored on laptops or hand-held devices could be easily copied, putting security and patient confidentiality at risk. PureWeb, the underlying technology, uses advanced architecture that doesn't require image data or confidential patient information to be transferred to the hand-held device. Patient or DICOM data is never removed from the on-site premises; it remains "in the cloud." If an HTC EVO 4G or hand-held device is lost or stolen, the patient records and data remain safe.

"The mobile revolution we are seeing in healthcare is rivaled by few changes of this magnitude," said Randy Rountree, EVP of Sales and Marketing, Calgary Scientific. "The change from film to digital imaging is one that comes to mind. The quality of the new devices such as the HTC EVO 4G and Samsung Epic™ 4G both with 3G and 4G capabilities, coupled with the desire of Sprint to work with developers like Calgary Scientific, to continually improve the performance of advanced software applications using huge, security-sensitive data sets, over these amazing networks is impressive and long overdue. These types of partnerships could propel the utilization of mobile devices in medical specialties, delivering critical information to physicians all over the world, in real time, without over burdening communications networks and increasing storage requirements to unreasonable levels."

The world's first 3G/4G Android™ handset, exclusively from Sprint, HTC EVO 4G, built on the Android platform, includes a blazing-fast 1GHz Qualcomm^® Snapdragon™ processor, the award-winning HTC Sense™ user experience, an 8.0 megapixel auto-focus camera with HD-capable video camcorder and a forward-facing 1.3 megapixel camera. HTC EVO supports industry-leading features including simultaneous voice and data while in 4G coverage and a large, vibrant 4.3 inch display, built-in kickstand, 3.5 mm headset jack and HDMI output make HTC EVO 4G an unparalleled platform for wireless multimedia.

The companies are in the process of certifying ResolutionMD Mobile on the Samsung Epic 4G, Sprint's second 4G-capable handset. Epic 4G is a Galaxy S smartphone and Samsung Mobile's first 4G Android-powered device. It is part of a new breed of Samsung smartphones offering the very best in screen, speed and content quality on Samsung's industry-leading 4 inch Super AMOLED touch-screen display. Samsung Epic 4G's user interface also supports a series of advanced touch-screen gestures and provides HD-like video in the palm of your hand; accessory cable available separately.

Sprint's 4G network has been serving customers since 2008 and is available today to customers in more than 50 markets in cities like Philadelphia, Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas and Seattle.

SOURCE Sprint and Calgary Scientific