Socket Talk

Oodles of CompactFlash Options for the SoMo

Back in 1997, Socket Mobile co-invented the CompactFlash (CF) I/O standard. Fast forward to 2012, and the CompactFlash I/O slot is one of the key competitive advantages of our SoMo handheld computer versus other mobile devices on the market.

Many of you may be familiar with Socket Mobile's various CF devices that can be used with the SoMo, but did you know about the plethora of 3rd party CF options that have also been successfully deployed with our handheld computer?

Just as a refresher, here is a list of CF options from Socket Mobile:

• CF Mag Stripe Reader Card Series 4 - credit card swipe
• CF Scan Card Series 5 - 1D & 2D barcode scanners
• CF RFID Reader Series 6 - HF RFID reader
• Rugged CF 10/100 Card - adds an Ethernet port

Third-party CF devices have been deployed with the SoMo in diverse verticals, including healthcare, hospitality, forestry, public health research, and more. (Note: Not all of the devices listed below have been tested by Socket Mobile.)

1. GlobalSat: BC-337 GPS receiver
2. ARANZ Medical: SilhouetteMobile 3D wound imaging and documentation device
3. Dytrex: Endire Pro blood glucose monitor
4. Hewi: eLOCK electronic locking system (see page 80)
5. Pro Active: SpringCard contact and contactless RFID readers/writers
6. UIC: UIC683 contactless payment 
7. GAO: LF RFID reader
8. Skoot: contactless payment
9. Smart-Reg: Smart-Alec name badge reader (see page 36)
10. Scirocco: R60 IR Reader "Libeccio"
11. iDTRONIC: Smart RFID
12. Kenetics: Volare UHF CF2
13. BrightCard: CF Reader UHF
14. Quatech: SocketSerial RS-232  serial I/O cards

 

Socket Deployments in Life Sciences

Last week, Socket announced Cook Medical, the world's largest privately held medical manufacturing company, as our first volume customer for the new CHS 7XiRx barcode scanner. The company plans to deploy 540 units of the CHS 7XiRx with the Apple iPhone running a custom inventory application they developed with the SocketScan 10 SDK. For many years, Life Science companies like Cook Medical have been a significant market for Socket, especially for our barcode scanners, which provide rapid and robust data collection with a broad range of device platforms, including Apple, Android, BlackBerry, Windows and more.

Of the six medical manufacturers included in the Fortune 500 this year — Medtronic, Baxter International, Boston Scientific, Becton Dickinson, Stryker and St. Jude Medical — at least three have actively deployed Socket products, and another has been testing the SoMo 650 as a replacement for the HP iPAQ. Multiple Fortune 500 pharmaceutical companies have also been Socket customers over the years.

Sales Force Automation
For Socket's Life Science customers, the most popular application by far is Sales Force Automation. Typically a sales representative / technician uses our CHS Bluetooth barcode scanner with a smartphone or tablet while visiting a hospital or clinic to track consignment inventory of costly medical devices. The mobile solution speeds up order processing and invoicing, minimizes data entry errors, and helps to ensure that customers have the latest product versions at hand. 

Multiple Fortune 500 medical device manufacturers use Socket CHS barcode scanners for Sales Force Automation, including our largest Life Sciences customer, who has deployed thousands of CHS units to sales teams worldwide, most recently with the Apple iPad. The CHS not only provides the ease of use and high quality that medical sales professionals demand, but also complements the latest smartphones and tablets to promote a positive professional image during customer visits.

Patient Diaries
After Sales Force Automation, the next most common Life Sciences application is recording patient diaries in clinical trials. For example, the SoMo 650 handheld computer has been used as a patient diary in vaccine studies. Having an electronic diary helps Life Science companies quickly validate data and speed up FDA submissions.

Cook Medical Adopts Socket Barcode Scanners and Apple iPhones for Mobile Inventory Management

Today’s enterprise technology landscape is changing, and with increasing influence over enterprise device use, it’s the workers who are leading the charge.

One example of this can be seen in Cook Medical, the world’s largest privately owned medical device manufacturing company and Socket Mobile’s first volume customer for the Socket Bluetooth® Cordless Hand Scanner^™ (CHS) 7XiRx. Cook Medical is using the CHS in conjunction with the Apple® iPhone to monitor customer and field-based inventories of medical devices with their application, Cook Scan.

“Many of our field reps were already using iPhones, so when we set out to add a barcode scanner into the mix we were looking for something robust and reliable that could be easily customized to work flawlessly with our application and the iPhone,” said Scott Todd, sales operations manager at Cook Medical. “The CHS 7XiRx coupled with the SocketScan^™ 10 SDK really fit the bill – the technical documentation is great; between that and the sample code, we were able to glean everything we needed for implementation within four weeks.”

The Cook Scan solution will be initially deployed in the United States and Canada to over 600 field representatives for use with their inventories, and will be used in over 1,000 hospitals to manage consignment inventories.

Are the scales tipping in favor of Apple iOS device use in the business world?

The signs point to yes.

A simple online search turns up a flurry of recent articles about how Apple is making significant progress with enterprise buyers thanks mainly to the popular success of iPhone and iPad and the overall stability of the iOS platform.

Some say Apple is experiencing an “accidental revolution” being driven by enterprise workers bringing in their own devices and applications and using them as productivity tools on the job.

As the number of applications for smartphones and tablets continue to grow, particularly in the enterprise and the healthcare market segment, it is increasingly important to have a high-performance barcode scanner that is capable of preserving data accuracy while also being compatible with a range of operating systems and platforms popular among end users.

Read the press release announcing the Cook Medical customer win.

 

Do You Need Wi-Fi Persistence Mode for Your SoMo 650?

by Dave Bledsoe, Sr. Product Manager, Handheld Computer Products

In the business world, not all Wi-Fi networks are the same.  Whether you have a complex, professionally surveyed network with dozens of access points or just a basic Wi-Fi setup with one or two access points, the Socket SoMo 650 handheld computer now features multiple Wi-Fi configurations to meet your needs.

• Persistence Mode optimizes mobile connectivity in facilities with few access points or limited wireless coverage. This is ideal for many restaurants using WLAN for tableside ordering / POS or other SoMo deployments that don't involve an expert site survey.



• Fast Roaming delivers high performance in environments deployed with a professional site survey with multiple access points and wireless coverage designed for mobile devices. This is ideal for many healthcare implementations, such as a hospital with dozens of access points spread across multiple buildings. In healthcare facilities, a professional site survey is critical due to all the metal, mirrors and other materials in a clinical environment that can degrade network communications.

     DOWNLOAD: Log in to get the latest Wi-Fi software for your SoMo.

     WHITE PAPER: Learn how Wi-Fi Persistence mode works.

An ideal replacement for HP iPAQ 200 series users!
Are you using the SoMo 650 as a substitute for the HP iPAQ 210, 215 or other 200 series handheld? With the discontinuation of the HP iPAQ 200 series, Socket's new Persistence Mode provides iPAQ users a familiar wireless experience, eliminating the need for application changes and end-user re-training.

     View the HP iPAQ / SoMo 650 comparison chart.

Professional Site Surveys from Ekahau
Need a site survey for your SoMo deployment? Socket partner Ekahau offers expert site surveys that can help you plan your wireless implementation, troubleshoot problems like misconfigured access points or missing security settings, and improve overall network performance. They even have a custom option for the SoMo 650 so your worksite can be tested based on the specific Wi-Fi chipset and antenna design of the SoMo.

     Learn about professional site surveys from Socket partner Ekahau.

SoMo 650Rx Shown in Alere Epoc Video

Alere recently made a great animated video of their epoc bedside blood testing solution, which features the SoMo 650 handheld computer and the Socket CF Scan Card plug-in barcode scanner.

The solution is currently in use at hospitals such as Blount Memorial Hospital in Tennessee, Self Regional Healthcare in South Carolina, and Children's Hospital Oakland in California.

Watch the Alere epoc video on the Socket Mobile YouTube channel.

Healthcare Partners Promote SoMo 650 in UK

Socket partner ARANZ Medical of New Zealand recently formed an alliance with Entec Health to sell and market the Silhouette Mobile handheld wound analysis system in the UK.

Silhouette Mobile consists of a digital 3D imager attached to the SoMo 650 handheld computer. It enables clinicians to image, measure, and document wound assessments in minutes.

It is mostly used in the treatment of leg ulcers, diabetic ulcers, and pressure ulcers (i.e., bed sores), though it can also be used for other kinds of injuries, such as some types of battle wounds common among soldiers.

PRODUCT TOUR: Learn more about Silhouette Mobile and see how the SoMo is used.

Learn more about the partnership between ARANZ Medical and Entec Health.

Silhouette Mobile has already achieved regulatory compliance in the U.S., Europe, Australia, and Canada and is used by healthcare organizations around the world. 

This week, Socket partner iBleep of UK launched a great new website which showcases the antimicrobial version of the SoMo 650 in an animated product tour. 

PRODUCT TOUR: See how the SoMo is used to coordinate hospital staff with iBleep.

Their website also announces a new three-year deal they have signed with University Hospital of South Manchester to provide iBleep as part of its Hospital 24/7 Project, aimed at improving the quality of healthcare over a full 24 hour day.

Is Your Wi-Fi Network Singing the Blues?

These are all signs that your Wi-Fi network may have an illness, and if you've been experiencing any of the above symptoms, then it might be time to give your network a little TLC by treating it to a site survey from Ekahau, a worldwide leader in high performance Wi-Fi-based Real Time Location Systems (RTLS) and Wi-Fi network planning and optimization tools.

Socket Mobile recently partnered with Ekahau to provide Socket customers in healthcare and hospitality with site survey software tools and professional network services, which enable them to detect, analyze and correct network-related issues, ensuring optimal performance of their
SoMo 650 handheld computers, as well as other Wi-Fi devices on their network.

 

The above video gives a two-minute overview of Ekahau Site Survey (ESS), a visual and easy-to-use toolkit for deploying and maintaining high performance 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi networks being used for VoIP, video, location tracking, web browsing or high-speed data.

IT managers and wireless professionals have the ability to correct a number of network problems, including fixing all the symptoms of an unhealthy network listed above and much more. In addition, ESS makes in-depth network analysis easy with accurate, color-coded heat maps that identify signal strength, data rate, packet loss roaming, overlap and various other characteristics.

WeCare Selects the SoMo 650Rx for Next Gen Point-of-Care Management System

WeCare Australia, an Australian-based provider of aged care software, has chosen the antimicrobial Socket SoMo^® 650Rx handheld computer for their next generation deployment of electronic point-of-care management systems.

WeCare is a comprehensive care planning and management tool that empowers care staff at residential aged care facilities throughout Australia to readily access, input and communicate critical information ensuring residents receive the care they need, while increasing direct funding.

“We’ve just completed a series of extensive upgrades to the WeCare software application and we’re excited to launch our latest version on the Socket SoMo 650Rx platform,” said Mark Audley, CEO of WeCare Australia. “More than 100 aged care facilities throughout Australia use the WeCare system for point-of-care documentation, most of whom are currently using the Palm^® Tungsten^™ handheld device.  Over the next couple of years we expect to upgrade those 1,200+ handheld units to our newest software version on the SoMo 650Rx.”

Read the full press release.

 

On the Road to EMR Adoption

By Len Ott, CTO of Socket Mobile

Recently, I attended the Northern California HIMSS CIO Forum, hosted by NorthBay Healthcare in the city of Fairfield. There, I heard about the struggles that local healthcare organizations, including NorthBay Healthcare, Sutter Health, and UC Davis Health System, are facing as they update their IT systems to comply with the new EMR (Electronic Medical Record) regulations.

Most healthcare organizations that presented at the forum have made some progress in transitioning from paper to electronic processes, but there still is a long way to go to get to the fully integrated hospital room or department.

One big issue with many organizations is tying in Bio Health devices, such as infusion pumps, blood monitors, etc. into central data systems, especially when these devices are managed by a totally separate department or group within the organization. 
You can view some presentations from the forum here.

Back from the Intelligent InSites Partner Summit!

By Len Ott, CTO of Socket Mobile

Just returned from the Intelligent InSites Partner Summit and got to hear from lots of their RTLS (Real-Time Locating Systems) Hardware partners.  Amazing how many different technologies (and mixtures of different technologies) are being used for RTLS --- everything from Wi-Fi to Ultrasound, to Infrared, to ZigBee to Bluetooth!

ROI on RTLS is quite high and fast, and there's huge opportunity for market growth.

Here's a pic of me accepting a plaque from Intelligent InSites President and CEO Mark Rheault:

 

A pic of Socket Sr. Channel Business Manager Dan Recchia making a presentation about our medical products: 

 
(Photos courtesy of Intelligent InSites)