25th January 2007

The implementation of information technology in hospitals is expected to bring many benefits such as easier access to medical appliances necessary in an emergency. In other words, when an emergency patient is brought to the hospital, a ‘real-time asset tracking system’ will help look up medical equipment in an easy manner, enabling prompt and accurate medical service.

Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI, President Mun-Kee Choi) announced on Jan 24th that it will sign an MOU for ‘real-time location tracking system based on Ubiquitous Sensor Network (USN)’ with Motorola Labs and Gil Hospital at Gachon University Gil Medical Center located in Incheon, Korea.

This MOU is part of a joint research agreement on developing a ‘sensor network system for Ubiquitous-City (u-City)’, which is being carried out by ETRI’s Telematics and USN Research Division and Motorola Labs, to collaborate each other with a view to apply its research & development results to the hospital.

The medical staff in local hospitals generally has been facing many difficulties and time-consuming problems in verifying the hospital’s equipments. This brought about numerous accidents such as the loss of medical devices.

The complex process is likely to cause vital problems for seriously ill patients in emergency. Thus, ETRI has decided to join hands with Motorola to solve such problems through the development of a real-time location tracking system of movable medical devices within the hospital. They have agreed to install the technology system in the Gil Hospital’s emergency center and initiate trial service from this April.

ETRI and Motorola will install the newly developed application server for location tracking MIDSTA (Middleware for Distributed Sensor neTwork Application) Gateway USN node in Gil Hospital’s emergency center and launch trial service.

They are expected to take lead in the USN-based real-time location tracking technology, confirm the possibilities of commercializing USN technologies and create new business models for u-Hospital. Also, by conducting trial service, Gil Hospital will be able to improve their processes for prompt treatment and enhance customer satisfaction.

The three-way MOU is part of the u-IT839 strategy to establish advanced foreign research facilities in the country, and is being promoted by the Things-to-Things Research Center founded by Motorola, the global leader in USN technology.

http://www.motorola.com