Leveraging Intelligent Systems Technology to Deliver Next-Generation Care at the Medical Edge
April 26, 2022
Whitepaper
In the real world, the initial point of care is almost never in a hospital, clinic, or doctor’s office. It’s almost always at, what we in the technology industry, refer to as the far edge, near edge and device edge.
There, things are unpredictable. Resources are at a minimum. And where repeatability and containment were once the only characteristics that mattered, flexibility, agility, and openness are now the keys to success. In short, the environment lends itself to next-generation edge intelligence powered by continuous integration and delivery (CI/CD) of advanced software capabilities.
This approach to software development is a critical enabler of AI and IoT technology, but there are additional considerations before the healthcare field can adopt it widely:
- The lack of determinism in enterprise software components that enable cloud native development and CI/CD practices is contrary to almost every electronic medical device design principle
- Cloud native capabilities are dependent on connectivity, but patient data privacy regulations like HIPAA make robust security non-negotiable in all connected medical devices
- In safety-critical systems governed by standards like IEC 62304 and FDA Class III, CI/CD can be a disadvantage because any platform changes mean it must be recertified
Just like the solutions being deployed at the next-generation point of care, medical device OEMs and systems integrators need enabling technologies that are smarter, safer, and more secure.
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