Tech Research and Innovation

Keep it simple: User research driving eHealth adoption

Source: HealthcareIT News.eu
Date: 17 Apr 2008
Written by Jack Beaudoin, Editorial Director

LUXEMBOURG -- Healthcare IT vendors say the greatest barrier to eHealth adoption in Europe these days may not be technology hurdles, regulatory issues or even the lack of proven financial models. With refreshing honesty, many are acknowledging that a certain "engineering arrogance" may be to blame.

The silver lining to that arrogance, however, is new multidisciplinary research aimed at involving end users in the design and development of eHealth tools. "Too often we have developed software and pushed it on to providers," conceded Eric Maurincomme, Afga's vice president for eHealth, speaking at the "2008 Med-e-Tel" Conference in Luxembourg on April 17. "And we got push back. We have to work with users to meet their needs and develop solutions for them."  And while Maurincomme was speaking about provider adoption, the same is true when the end user is the patient.

Alcatel-Lucent's Casena project, which aims to support the elderly at home through technology, is currently responding to demographic trends which should prompt greater utilization of eHealth in Europe. But, said Alcatel's Johan Criel, study after study shows that in-home technology must respond to a set of considerations beyond simple costs or utility. "User research showed us how important the feeling of control is in a domestic space," he said. End users wouldn't adopt so-called ambient eHealth tools unless they were virtually invisible and didn't call attention to dependency.

To tease out what will work and what won't, the lab is deploying multidisciplinary teams of scientists, engineers and ethnologists. Next month, the project is kicking off a house-based pilot project with users suffering from mild dementia.

NEW PILOT PROJECTS

In the past, such pilot projects have often been criticized for delaying production-ready tools and taking up funds that could be used for larger scale deployment efforts, but even vendors say they are seeing now great value from the efforts. (read more....)

Implementing the ELINCS Standard: Technical Experience from the Field

Oct 2007

In February 2006, the California HealthCare Foundation funded five pilot projects across California to implement ELINCS v1.0 in live clinical settings. The testing sites included two national labs, several smaller labs, and five different EHR or chronic disease registry systems.

This issue brief details the results of the pilot implementations. The project helped to identify several important challenges in adopting the ELINCS standard, including the need to learn new coding schemes, the lack of a standard for message transport, and difficulty in resolving incompatible data fields.

By the end of the project, four of the five pilot sites had successfully implemented ELINCS and were using it to transmit their lab test results. The feedback they provided helped to validate ELINCS v1.0 and to inform the minor changes incorporated into ELINCS v1.1 (released in October 2006).

The complete issue brief is available under Document Downloads below.
Implementing the ELINCS Standard: Technical Experience from the Field (Pdf., 137K)

Medical implants: the inside story

Source:  CORDIS - ICT Results
Date: 18 Oct 2007

The EU's Healthy Aims project includes partners from seven EU countries, Switzerland and Israel, all of whom were already members of a medical devices industry association. “We started with a very strong group of people,” recalls Diana Hodgins of European Technology for Business Ltd, the project coordinator. “We looked at the clinical needs and the end manufacturers' requirements and married those up to the technologies that we had available.”  In its four years, the project has pioneered three powered implants and three diagnostic devices .

Six products
A common consequence of a stroke is that patients lose control of an arm and are unable to release their grip. In functional electrical stimulation (FES), muscles are activated by signals from an implant. “Our stimulator extends the wrist, so the hand is in the right position, and then opens the fingers and thumb ready for an object to be grasped,” Hodgins explains (more...) 

New institute to assess value of medical technology

A new institute will aim to bridge the gap between medical technology, innovation and healthcare policy to provide policymakers with evidence of the social and economic value of medical technology, and medical devices in particular.

Brief News:

The European Health Technology Institute for Socio-Economic Research (Research Institute) was officially launched on 6 October 2007 at the  European Health Forum Gastein , the most important annual health policy event in the EU. 

Founded and funded by the European medical technology industry association (Eucomed) for an initial three-year period, the institute will bring together industry and the health departments of three European universities - Technische Universität Berlin, Università Bocconi and London School of Economics (LSE) - to conduct socio-economic research on the impact of medical technology. 

Each university will be granted €200,000 a year, bringing the total budget of the institute to some €1.8 million. According to the consortium, researchers will "have complete scientific and editorial independence". 

The aim of the institute is to "address the lack of evidence on the socio-economic value of medical technology to produce appropriate research and reputable evidence to raise the level of knowledge about medical technology and enhance prospects for informed policy decision making." 

There are two main research topics. The first topic will examine how medical technologies are currently financed in major European countries and consider how existing financing systems could be improved. 

The second will review the benefits of technological innovations in the healthcare sector. The aim is to provide evidence of, for example, improving quality of life and decreasing disability and mortality rates, as well as higher employee productivity or higher GDP output per worker.

"Current discussions on healthcare reforms mostly focus on the costs associated with medical innovation and technology, and how these can be contained," states the consortium press release. 

Initial results of the research will be published in early 2008.

Links

• European Health Forum Gastein: Launch: European Health Technology Institute for Socio-Economic Research (6 October 2007)

• European medical technology industry association (Eucomed) press release: Launch at the European Health Forum Gastein: The European Health Technology Institute for Socio-Economic Research, a partnership between academia, policy-makers and industry, to conduct research on the value of medical technology (6 October 2007)
• European Health Technology Institute for Socio-Economic Research press kit (6 October 2007)

Virtual hospital opens doors in "Second Life"
Sep 2007

Virtual Hospital ( Second Health ) Aims To Explain London's Health Care Plans

The collaborative project between the National Physics Laboratory ( NPL ) and Imperial College London ( ICL ) was originally designed to showcase future plans for healthcare to the public in the capital.

The Healthcare for London plan, published by the National Health Service in July, calls for creating a network of 150 compact medical facilities called polyclinics. The virtual hospital, called Second Health, was created to explain the plan to the public.
Users can explore the three-dimensional model of a clinic and view multimedia presentations on specific departments. Second Health also includes films demonstrating how patients with different conditions travel through London's health care system.
In addition, Second Health could be used as a training application. "Students learn to become doctors by role playing in a hospital environment," NPL Second Health Managing Director Dave Taylor said, adding, "You can role play extremely efficiently with Second Life, so we expect to be able to train medical students and GPs" (Kelly, Computing , 9/6).

The Second Health project allows visitors to explore a three-dimensional model of a clinic, created within the online world of Second Life .  ICL surgeon Dr James Kinross: ‘Second Life allows us to do things that have not been possible before, particularly with regard to visualising abstract concepts'. ‘We wanted people to understand what a polyclinic was without them having to sit down and read a 300-page document.  ‘In Second Life we can create that place and have it function as a building, so people can walk around and see how it fits together,' said Kinross.

But the virtual building also houses other information.  The Second Health hospital has been used to create films showing how patients with different conditions move through London's healthcare system. One film tells the story of a heart attack victim, detailing treatment at each stage.

There are also potential training applications .‘Students learn to become doctors by role-playing in a hospital environment,' said NPL Second Health managing director Dave Taylor. ‘You can role-play extremely efficiently with Second Life, so we expect to be able to train medical students and GPs.'

Remote access technologies are playing an increasing role in healthcare. The global market for telehealth systems will be worth $8bn (£3.97bn) by 2012, according to a report last week from analyst Datamonitor.

In May the government put up £12m for trials in Kent, Newham in London, and Cornwall.

NGNS: A Key Stroke Analyser

Professional typewriting can cause severe problems on fingers, hands, arms and even shoulders. One of such problems is the Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, which is the leading cause of occupational illness in the United States , costing the industry thousands of dollars every year.

Until now, the investigation of causes and consequences has been difficult, mostly due to the inexistence of a practical and reliable way of analysing the typist movements. This work developed a solution to detect and identify the typist's fingers while typewriting, and then calculate the statistics concerning pressed keys and fingers used to do so.

To capture the typist's movements, an USB camera was used, with a fluorescent light to guarantee correct keyboard illumination. The system then records a video and memorizes the frames where a key was pressed. After the video capture, the system processes the needed frames and detects the fingers used for each pressed key. To distinguish the several fingers, coloured self-adhesive markers cover the patient's nails.

Fuzzy logic was used to classify the used finger, by evaluation of a set of rules that take into account the average R, G and B channels from the area of interest.

The system showed an accuracy of 91% in fully automatic mode, and it is possible to achieve 100% in the advanced mode, where the user can confirm the software classification. Future developments may include a second camera to record another keyboard image, therefore enhancing the chances of correct classification

Contact: Pedro Vieira, NGNS pmv@fct.unl.pt

St Mary's Hospital pioneers world's first robotic arm to navigate heart for common cardiac procedure

St Mary's Hospital in London is pioneering the world's first robot able to navigate the human heart during a popular procedure to eliminate heart rhythm disorders - catheter ablation.  The robotic device, used to treat the world's most common heart rhythm disorder –atrial fibrillation (AF), could dramatically reduce clinical risk for patients.  The advancement has the potential to simplify complex procedures and not only increase patient safety but also the availability of the procedure.

The Sensei Robotic Catheter system, by Hansen Medical, was launched globally in May with St Mary's announced as the World's first centre for training and development.   More than 20 St Mary's patients have already been operated on by the robotic surgical hand, which is controlled by a doctor from a nearby console station. ( Read more...)

Free version of medavis DICOM Importer

"Medavis" released a free tool to import medical image data into PACS Archives
The international standard DICOM for medical image data has been implemented for several years, but in reality the data exchange between hospitals or private institutes often fails due to technical problems. Even though nowadays nearly all software solutions offer the possibility to write individual patient image data onto data carriers like CD or DVD, this in many cases fails due to the data not being accepted by the receiver´s system. This is why important information for treatment or specific diagnostic is often not accessable.
In order to create a smooth exchange of information in the future, medavis GmbH has developed a software that can be used intuitively and free of charge for non-commercial use.
With the help of medavis DICOM Importer, DICOM media, as well as many other formats, can be imported and saved into a PACS archive. Apart from the possibility of importing the entire data of a data carrier by the push of a single button you can also choose between importing an image series or just single images with the built in preview function. For improved report assessment the users have, within the image preview function, functions like Pan, Zoom, Window-Center, at their disposal. 
The free version can be used for non-commercial use without time limitation and may be freely copied. The current version can be found in the download area of www.dicomimporter.com

The DICOM Conformance Statement can be downloaded in the download area of the medavis GmbH under www.medavis.com

Paris hospital first in EU to implement Picis CareSuite

Source: Healthcare IT News.EU 
Date: 10 August, 2007
Written by Pamela Leavy, Contributing Writer

A private hospital in the heart of Paris stands as the first European medical center to implement Picis Inc.'s CareSuite Total Perioperative Automation software package.  Picis , a U.S.-based healthcare IT vendor, and Institut Mutualiste Montsouris in Paris have reached an agreement to integrate patient booking, surgical scheduling, supply chain management, revenue management, operating room clinical workflow and critical care through the automated healthcare IT software system.

Patients, surgeons, operating room nurses, and anesthesia providers will all benefit from this technology, said Philippe Mabille, general director of Picis S.A.S. in France, French-speaking Belgium and Switzerland. The Paris hospital will also implement Picis' point-of-care information system for intensive care units.  (read more...)

Biocomputer: Tiny Implantable Molecular Devices

Researchers at Harvard University and Princeton University have made a crucial step toward building biological computers, tiny implantable devices that can monitor the activities and characteristics of human cells. 31/05/2007. The information provided by these "molecular doctors," constructed entirely of DNA, RNA, and proteins, could eventually revolutionize medicine by directing therapies only to diseased cells or tissues.

"Each human cell already has all of the tools required to build these biocomputers on its own," says Harvard's Yaakov (Kobi) Benenson, a Bauer Fellow in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences' Center for Systems Biology. "All that must be provided is a genetic blueprint of the machine and our own biology will do the rest. Your cells will literally build these biocomputers for you."

Evaluating Boolean logic equations inside cells, these molecular automata will detect anything from the presence of a mutated gene to the activity of genes within the cell. The biocomputers' "input" is RNA, proteins, and chemicals found in the cytoplasm; "output" molecules indicating the presence of the telltale signals are easily discernable with basic laboratory equipment.

"Currently we have no tools for reading cellular signals," Benenson says. "These biocomputers can translate complex cellular signatures, such as activities of multiple genes, into a readily observed output. They can even be programmed to automatically translate that output into a concrete action, meaning they could either be used to label a cell for a clinician to treat or they could trigger therapeutic action themselves."

Benenson and his colleagues demonstrated that biocomputers can work in human kidney cells in culture. Research into the system's ability to monitor and interact with intracellular cues such as mutations and abnormal gene levels is still in progress.

A biocomputer's calculations, while mathematically simple, could allow researchers to build biosensors or medicine delivery systems capable of singling out very specific types or groups of cells in the human body. Molecular automata could allow doctors to specifically target only cancerous or diseased cells via a sophisticated integration of intracellular disease signals, leaving healthy cells completely unaffected. 

Philips and Misys collaborate to offer technology solutions to the homecare marketplace

Source: eHealth News - EC
Date: 9 May, 2007

Royal Philips Electronics (NYSE: PHG; AEX: PHI) and Misys Healthcare Systems, a leader in healthcare IT, announced a plan to join forces to provide a comprehensive solution for the homecare market. The companies intend to develop an integrated software platform that enables homecare agencies to provide high quality care to chronically ill patients, while benefiting from operational efficiencies in monitoring and managing their patients' health status.
Read more... http://www.ehealthnews.eu/content/view/544/26/

More research needed into health effects of electromagnetic fields,
say experts

Source: eHealth News - EC
Date: 9 May, 2007

Further research is needed to determine the impact of electromagnetic fields on health, particularly in the long term, according to the latest Opinion published by the European Commission's "Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks" (SCENIHR).
Electromagnetic fields come from a range of devices, including power lines, electrical appliances, mobile phones, video displays and certain diagnostic instrumentation.
Read more... http://www.ehealthnews.eu/content/view/547/27/

Digital pen points to healthcare

Source: California Healthcare Foundation
Date: 3 of May, 2007
Written by: Eric Wicklund, Contributing Editor

LUND, SWEDEN - It's been said that the pen is mightier than the sword. It may also be more powerful than the laptop.

Anoto Group AB, an 11-year-old company based in Lund, Sweden, is marketing a digital pen and paper technology that is designed to capture handwriting and graphic data and transmit it - real-time or in batch form - to a PC or other server.

According to Ebba Asly-Fahraeus, Anoto's vice president of global marketing, the technology has been used in banking and finance, shipping, logistics and inspections. Japan is now testing the product in schools and police departments (particularly in writing traffic tickets), while Hamburg, Germany is planning to use the technology in the voting booth.
For the past year, Anoto has been marketing digital pen and paper to the healthcare sector.

"It's quite a paper-intensive area," says Asly-Fahraeus, who notes that home healthcare providers and hospital emergency departments have shown the most interest so far. "All this does is take what you have written and create a digital copy." (read more…)

ERCIM: developing a new Pathophysiology Modelling WG

by Ioannis Tollis and Nicholas Ayache

Initiated by the European Commission as a major multidisciplinary scientific challenge, the Virtual Physiological Human (VPH) aims to develop robust, in silico models of human physiology and pathology. The desired outcomes include the identification of novel diagnostic biomarkers, the optimization of clinical decision-making and the discovery of innovative therapies. In this way, individualized models of human function could serve as virtual testbeds for a better understanding of pathophysiological processes (ie the disturbance of normal mechanical, physical and biochemical functions), as well as evaluating potential therapeutical strategies in silico.

This scientific direction is reflected in the recent calls for projects for the European Union's 7th Framework Programme on VPH, which will target:

• patient-specific computational modelling and simulation of organs or systems targeting specific clinical needs such as prediction of diseases
• data integration and knowledge extraction, and most importantly
• clinical applications and demonstration of the tangible benefits of patient-specific computational models.

Computer Pump Makes Chemotherapy 'Kinder, Gentler,' Doctors Say

Source: ECT TechNewsWorld www.technewsworld.com
Date: 22 April 2006

By Gene J. Koprowski

"This technology allows for larger doses to be delivered more frequently, with higher efficacy and lower toxicity. It's kinder, gentler and at the same time, more aggressive and effective," Dr. William Hrushesky, a senior clinical investigator at the Dorn Veterans Administration Medical Center in South Carolina, told TechNewsWorld.

In the art house film, "Wit," Emma Thompson plays an always-acerbic college English professor whose approach to life is challenged by the sudden onset of cancer, and the resultant treatment of chemotherapy. The chemotherapy regime is often worse than the cancer itself, what with countless visits to the hospital, as the film demonstrates, quite ably.

Sweden's largest Hospital targets improved patient care with Cisco technology

Cisco networking technology to advance Data Center Network Architecture, improve data storage, support a hospital merger and connect multiple locations around Stockholm

Gartner Data Center Summit, Amsterdam, and Stockholm, Sweden, November 30, 2005 - Cisco Systems today announced that Karolinska University Hospital - Sweden's largest - is deploying a Cisco Medical-Grade Network solution to help improve healthcare services delivered to patients and streamline IT management. Karolinska, in Stockholm, expects realise significant savings by using Cisco technology to help hospital doctors and home-based medical specialists share patient information quickly and with a high degree of security, making diagnosis and treatment faster and more efficient. (more....)

Magic Key Project

The Magic Key Project , developed at the Superior School of Technology and Management of Guarda (Portugal), aims at the development of simple, economical and functional solutions that facilitate the access to the new information and communication technologies by people whose physical difficulties hinder or make this access very difficult. (more….)

Graphical world opens for visually-impaired people

Source: IST Results
Date: 24 April 2006

A new tactile device will allow the widespread use of graphical interfaces for visually-impaired people. The tactile graphical display will open up new avenues of employment, communication and personal expression. Conceivably it could do for graphics what Louis Braille did for text in 1824.

Current Braille displays generally show one line at a time using electro-magnetic or piezo-electrical forces to raise and lower the dots that make up Braille letters. Larger multiline displays were developed but never sold commercially because they cost over €200,000 to produce.

New Solution for Cardiac Care Suites Designed To Enhance Diagnosis and Treatment

Source: HEALTH Informatics NHS  ( Connecting for Health) www.informatics.nhs.uk
Date: 1st-Mar-2007

Philips is introducing innovative, networked equipment for recording patient data in acute hospital settings. The new HeartStart MRx can be operated without a mains supply and streams patient's waveforms and vitals in real time.

Information is collected and logged at an IntelliVue Information Centre, where it can be analysed by clinicians. All data registered by the equipment can be transported with the patient and is recorded straight onto the patient chart.

Oran Muduroglu, CEO of Healthcare Informatics for Philips Medical Systems, commented that this is the first combined patient monitor and defibrillator for use in acute settings.

He remarked: "When physicians can accurately and quickly make a diagnosis, the patient benefits through earlier treatment options."

Philips is also developing a completely integrated software suite for cardiac wards, which collects data from intervention, ultrasound, CTs and MRs, nuclear cardiology and electrophysiology.

Other solutions in progress are currently being displayed at the 2007 Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) annual conference in New Orleans .

Recent research published in Health Affairs suggests that electronic management of patient care can improve treatment quality.

Technology Enables Nurses To Spend More Time With Patients

Source: HEALTH Informatics NHS (Connecting for Health) www.informatics.nhs.uk
Date: 26th-Feb-2007

A new device based on Intel Corporation's mobile clinical assistant (MCA) platform is now ready for use, allowing nurses to remain connected to information on patients and manage the administration of medications while on the move.

Motion Computing's C5 is the first product to be based on the MCA platform and has been welcomed by clinicians and nurses around the world.

The system, which is lightweight, spill-resistant and easy to clean, provides up-to-the-minute access to patient records via wireless connectivity and allows the user to document a patient instantly, aiding workflow and reducing the administrative burden placed on medical staff.

Rapid user logon is enabled by the use of radio frequency identification (RFID) technology, and the device also incorporates a digital camera to help keep track of wounds as they heal, as well as Bluetooth technology to help capture a patient's vital signs.

Paul Otellini, president and CEO of Intel, said that the MCA was "defined and shaped by the clinicians who will use it". "They have told us it will improve their decision making and patient care while easing overall workloads. This is a great example of putting innovative technology to work solving real needs," he remarked.

Motion Computing's president and CEO, Scott Eckert, added: "Delivering solutions that improve the quality of care is a strategic priority for Motion, and we have heard directly from clinicians how technology can help them spend more time caring for their patients."

The UK 's Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust was one of a number of hospitals across the world involved in trialling the MCA.

Hospitals to Start Scanning Patients for Implanted Chips

Source: e-Week.COM ( www.eweek.com )
Date: 17 Mar 2006
By M.L. Baker ( Ziff Davis Internet)

U.S. hospitals are gearing up to scan unconscious and disoriented patients for implanted microchips. To encourage patients to get tagged, VeriChip, the chip's maker, plans to give away scanning equipment to hospitals .

Because the chips could be scanned without people's consent or knowledge, the news has sparked visions of a world where a Big Brother government (or employer) monitors people's movements. The real danger is much more low-tech: the use and abuse of patients' medical information. (read more...)

Faster, more efficient searching of medical images

In: EC - IST Results
Source: Based on information from DSSCV
Date: 24 April 2006

A Danish-led research project has made encouraging progress toward using advanced mathematics as the basis of an improved method for indexing and searching medical images in the huge digital databases of clinics and hospitals.

Completed in November 2005, the DSSCV consortium's long-term goal was to contribute to software tools allowing doctors and hospital technicians to quickly search and match X-rays, magnetic resonance images and computed 3D tomography scans, particularly of the craniofacial region.

"Let's say a doctor has a new patient with a broken bone," says coordinator, Mads Nielsen, a professor of computer science at the IT University of Copenhagen . "He remembers seeing a similar fracture and wants to recall how he treated that patient, but doesn't remember the case number. By inputting the X-ray of the new patient, this computer system would allow finding the relevant, digitally stored image of that kind of fracture."

"Anybody that needs to compare or search images for specific features could use the technology," says Nielsen. However, he estimates that practical use will require five to 10 more years of development. (more …)

3D Computer: Virtual Limbs Ease Amputees' Pain

Published by: MEDICA.de www.medica.de

Source: The University of Manchester www.manchester.ac.uk

Date: 27 Nov 2006

Scientists are using 3D computer graphics to combat the pain suffered by amputees. They have developed a virtual reality system, which gives the illusion that a person's amputated limb is still there. The computer system immerses patients into a life-size virtual reality world. (more...)

Semantic Interoperability to Boost Data Sharing

NHS Connecting for Health  

Source: NewsWire Newsletter www.informatics.nhs.uk

Date: 15th November 2006

Health informatics experts think the semantic interoperability concept can improve communication and data sharing through the health industry. The concept involves harmonising disparate applications easily – bypassing the typical problems of computer languages being incompatible.

In fact, semantic interoperability breaks down the problematic search queries that produce multiple meanings on a single term, essentially negotiating with systems to find the appropriate terms that are relevant.

Software-maker Quovadax and 3M Healthcare Data Dictionary have recently entered a contract to update the 3M library with a semantic interoperability interface.

Quovadx vice president Mike Epplen said: "By using a regularly updated consistent clinical terminology, errors can be reduced and patient care improved."

He added: "This enables us to continue to bring the best technology partners together to enhance our customers' investment in our products."

The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) has been moving semantic technologies to the commercial arena since 2005 and interest in the technology from the US healthcare industry has been apparent by the data sharing and consolidation potential.

Grids to aid breast cancer diagnosis and research

IMI path around bottlenecks to R&D efficiency

The Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) has published a new version of its strategic research agenda (SRA), outlining strategies to overcome specific 'bottlenecks' to efficient R&D for new medicines. Central to this would be a new European Medicines Research Academy (EMRA), with some similarities to the proposed European Institute of Technology (EIT), to promote excellence in medicines research in Europe.

According to the SRA, 'These bottlenecks have been identified as: predicting safety, predicting efficacy, bridging gaps in knowledge management and bridging gaps in education and training.'

The European Commission and the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA) will have joint responsibility for a new organisation to overcome these bottlenecks. The body will have the power to award grants to European Public-Private Collaborations to follow the strategy laid-out in the SRA, designed to overcome the bottlenecks to efficient R&D. (more)

Accenture , SAP To Develop Health Care Software

Source: iHEALTH Beat (www.ihealthbeat.org)
Date: 21st September, 2006

The consulting firm Accenture and software producer SAP on Wednesday announced that they will co-develop software for the health IT industry that is intended to improve patient care and reduce costs, Reuters / CNET News reports.

The software will be based on SAP's NetWeaver platform and the companies said it will link information and maintain records that can be accessed by several users.

SAP and Accenture , which is losing money in its $11.7 billion project to enhance technology for Britain 's National Health System, said a recent study by market research group Gartner predicts that health care software spending could increase by 4.6% this year, the highest of any IT sector.

( Reuters / CNET News , 9/20).

EUROSTAT: Small growth in European R&D investment

(EuropeanTechWire) According to Eurostat's latest figures on research and development (R&D) spending, overall investment in the EU is approaching the 2 per cent mark.(more)

The French government has launched a set of research measures aimed at developing new technologies for people with disabilities. (more)

The dollars spent by tech sector heavyweights on research and development number in the billions. For example, in the semiconductor space, Intel(Nasdaq: INTC) will have spent US$4 billion on R&D by the end of 2002. The company operates more than 75 labs staffed with 7,000 researchers, and it increased its R&D spending by 412 percent between 1991 and 2001.

Determining a company's return on its R&D investment is not a clear-cut exercise. Until ROI is achieved, companies often find ways to pass the costs on to consumers or suffer reduced profits. (more)

Japan's Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (NTT), in collaboration with the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) Electronic Visualization Laboratory (EVL) and the University of Southern California (USC) School of Cinema-Television, successfully demonstrated Super High Definition (SHD) full motion digital imagery streaming in real time from a server in Chicago to a projector in Los Angeles. (more)

R&D teams at many of the world's major tech organizations are developing new ways for humans to interact with their digital environment.

Wireless data and voice networks are popping up everywhere. Like the stems of proliferating weeds, their antennae can be found now in the darndest of places: inside local Starbucks coffee shops, as well as on residential rooftops in cities like New York and San Francisco, where empty Pringles cans broadcast Internet data throughout local neighborhoods. (more)

Businesses used to be able to decide what operations they needed to convert supplies into products, then set things up in a sequence that resembled a production line. They could cover as many steps in the production process as possible, or focus on one step, usually near the end or beginning of the process. But increased connectivity in today's world makes such thinking obsolete, says Cap Gemini Ernst & Young. Businesses today can coordinate complex production processes that aren't owned by the same company, or specialize in operations that occur in several parts of a production process - which doesn't even have to be organized in a linear fashion. Such changes drastically alter the way businesses compete. For example, customer value is understood as something created by a network of companies. And only after the overall configuration of this "value web" has been taken into account can a business make wise choices about its own boundaries. Instead of choosing a certain segment of the production line running from raw materials to consumers, they can select any bits of the value web where they are able to excel, leaving the other operations to companies that can do them better. (Center for Business Innovation Journal Issue 7)
http://www.cbi.cgey.com/journal/issue7/journEnterprise.html

Are you really innovating? Or simply "optimizing" - figuring out how to do what you already do better, cheaper, and faster? Optimization can be a trap, says Jack Stack of SRC Holdings, if you don't make the investments required to come up with new products, services and businesses that can address your weaknesses and help you grow. Relentless optimizing can actually strip your capacity to innovate. To save money, you've gotten rid of engineering, market research, human resources, and every other support function, and you no longer have the people or the culture needed to come up with the breakthroughs that can save you. To avoid that trap, Stack says, you've got to realize that your real product is your company itself. There's more value in building companies, he says, than in building products. "If you sell a pen, you can make a dollar. If you sell a pen company, you can make $10 million." Stack's innovation insights have created dozens of spin-off companies and a set of rules about innovating. First, use leverage, not cash, for a spin-off company. Hoard your equity and borrow what you need. Understand that the new venture is an experiment, and don't jeopardize the mother company. Find the right leader and give them a significant equity stake to encourage bootstrapping. Then find a cash-flowgenerator- a customer with a specific problem who's willing to pay to solve it - and an overhead absorber - a product that will meet the customer's need that you can begin selling immediately. (Inc. Magazine 1 Apr 2002)
http://www.inc.com/incmagazine/articles/24045.html

While there is no sure way to predict the future, certain facets of tomorrow's organization can be envisioned. There may not be one company today that exemplifies the Enterprise of the Future in every respect, but there are a growing number of companies that have been functioning in a consistently progressive and new way. The tools to help any business become more like such an organization already exist. By making itself more like the Enterprise of the Future, a business can make sure not only that it's ready for the new competitive challenges, but that it's ready and adaptable to succeed in the world beyond. (more)

Much has been written about the qualities necessary to succeed in business - everything from technological competence to an ability to adapt to change. But one often overlooked - yet critical - factor is common sense. By its very name, common sense is assumed to be, well, common. "It is possessed by any human being who bears even a modicum of sanity and rationality," writes Henry Astorga. "What is it then that makes people up and down organizational ranks and in their professional lives - accomplishments and erudition notwithstanding - succumb to behaviors and actions that reduce them to asinine nincompoops?" Astorga cites notable examples of business, political and religious personalities who, despite a wealth of talents and professional accomplishments, have fallen from public adulation and grace because of their utter lack of common sense. He writes that while highly competent people share certain traits, such as being decisive, ethical, perceptive and empathetic, "we can also find common traits among those people who, in spite of their intelligence, appear to be devoid of commonsense. They are self-absorbed, arrogant, insensitive, and unethical among others. Thus, might it be fair to contend that skills and competencies may propel us to untold heights of fame, fortune and mastery but it is commonsense that allows us to stay there?" (Asia Pacific Management Forum 29 Apr 2002)
http://www.apmforum.com/columns/eaststrategy4.htm

The Enterprise of the Future
Source: NewsScan Editors  innovation-digest@newsscan.com
Date: 17.04.2002

The Enterprise of the Future seizes the opportunities presented by new technology so decisively that it regularly creates new kinds of businesses where none existed before. Often it has no close competitors, because it stakes out the key relationships, technologies and operating standards before other companies have even figured out what they are. It makes value capture and pricing strategies part of its basic decisions about the kinds of goods and services it produces. The Enterprise of the Future operates and adapts at speeds that have only recently become possible. It functions almost entirely in real time, so it's accessible to customers and suppliers  around the clock. It can reorganize itself to profit from a new opportunity  while other companies are still doing feasibility studies. The Enterprise of the Future aggressively applies its know-how, brand, and human resources to new opportunities and new markets. Ponder these key questions to become an EoF: How can you create new value for the customer and make sure you capture this value? How should you configure the components of your business for maximum effectiveness? How can you increase the speed at which you operate and adapt? How can you leverage your intangible assets better? (Center for Business Innovation Journal)
http://www.cbi.cgey.com/journal/issue7/journEnterprise.html

Enhancing Customer Service with Technology
Source: NewsScan Editors  innovation-digest@newsscan.com
Date:17.04.2002

The most basic element in a customer relationship management (CRM) program is still a living, breathing customer service representative, according to Arthur M. Hughes, spokesman for the Database Marketing Institute. But add a few key technologies and software and your business can take a quantum leap in customer recognition and loyalty. One such basic is a database with customer names, addresses, phone numbers and purchase histories, which may also include personal preferences and events that trigger purchases (like anniversaries or birthdays). Caller-ID linked to the database can take CRM to a higher level by immediately displaying reams of customer information, and Automatic Call Director (ACD) software routes calls directly to the customer's regular service representative. Other software programs automatically alert customer service reps to make specific purchasing suggestions to callers. Such technologies are a boon, says Hughes, but companies still must measure return on technology investments - specifically in how much additional business is generated from satisfied, loyal customers, as well as tracking opportunities for higher sales and profits through cross-selling, repeat purchases, up-selling and referrals. (South China Morning Post 6 Apr 2002)
http://www.scmp.com/

Loyal Employees Create Loyal Customers
Source: NewsScan Editors  innovation-digest@newsscan.com
Date:17.04.2002

Better Teamwork Through Emotional Intelligence
Source: NewsScan Editors  innovation-digest@newsscan.com
Date:17.04.2002