HP launches new line of germicide-resistant computers meant for use in hospitals

The hospital environment is drastically different from the typical school or office setting, partly because of the sheer number of people that go through and interact in it each day. But the bigger reason is that there are many different sources of bacteria and viruses present inside hospitals, and germicide use is standard practice. As such, specialized equipment is needed to avoid causing any unexpected incidents involving patients and health workers in it.

To this end, U.S. computer company HP has developed an entire line of germicide-resistant computers and computer peripherals, called HP Healthcare Edition. The line currently comprises three different products – a laptop, a desktop computer, and a desktop monitor – and they all come with the necessary features that can make them indispensable in hospitals for years to come.

According to Alex Cho, vice president and general manager of Commercial PCs at HP, they have prepared a very specific set of computers in this particular line, all in the name of serving their customers well. “Healthcare is a unique setting, and our customers are looking for a very specific set of technology solutions,” he explained. “The HP Healthcare Edition portfolio was designed from the ground up with the needs of clinicians in mind.”

In an official press release, HP listed the three devices in its Healthcare Edition lineup and mentioned some of their key features. Firstly, there’s an HP EliteBook laptop computer, which is said to be the world’s first ultra-slim notebook that was designed specifically for use in the healthcare industry. It comes with built-in RFID and biometrics technology that will allow users to use single sign-on authentication (as long as hospital staff are all microchipped, of course). It also comes with a handful of HP-only niceties that are meant to improve user experience.

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As a laptop, the HP Healthcare Edition notebook comes with a built-in keyboard and touchscreen. But HP has pre-installed its Easy Clean software to allow users to disable both of those things and “facilitate cleaning with germicidal wipes while the device is still on.”

Moreover, there’s an all-in-one HP EliteOne desktop computer, which also features dual-band RFID and biometrics for single sign-on authentication. Finally, there’s a monitor that HP calls a Clinical Review Display, which is said to be the first in the world to feature an integrated RFID reader that also supports single sign-on authentication. It has a 27-inch screen and is also said to be DICOM PArt 14-compliant with luminance uniformity, auto-backlight monitoring, auto-image rotation, and user calibration options that can help with accurately and consistently viewing medical images.

HP said in its official announcement that the built-in touchpad on the Healthcare Edition notebook will work even when used with surgical gloves, which would be great for doctors as well as nurses. Meanwhile, the built-in RFID readers would also be perfect for tapping work badges on it in order to sign in.

As an added bonus, the notebook has a physically isolated security controller, which is intended to make it much harder for hackers to break. HP wanted to go all the way with protecting user privacy with this lineup, so they even added a privacy screen to prevent onlookers from reading the screen from odd angles.

At the moment, none of three devices have been released yet. But the EliteBook is scheduled to arrive some time in May, the all-in-one computer and the display are expected to follow in June. These are precisely the type of devices needed to help prevent the spread of potentially deadly bacteria in healthcare facilities.

Read more stories about new computers in Computing.news.

Sources include:

TheVerge.com

HP.com