Dr. Bikshandi allegedly creates a new lean PDA.

Akin to the Origami mystique discussion a few months ago, a physician in India claims to have created the first lean PDA for medicine. The device is apparently centered around preexisting hardware and is devoid of the bulky applications and proprietary restrictions that have closed the doors on progress thus far.

The article, published in India's Healthcare Management Express , would seem to be someone's reach for the spotlight if it were not for a few important facts. Dr. Bikshandi is a well respected Trauma Critical Care Specialist. Secondly, he actually presented a working model of the device to the Royal Society of Medicine in London! That's right, no vaporware here! A real, dedicated device. One would think that a picture or two would have evolved from this meeting, but alas, there are no pictures, but a lot of questions. According to HME, the device has the following characteristics:

1. Basic PDA functions: Calendar, Contact/Address book, meeting alerts and e-mail.
2. Wireless connectivity.

When asked if the device can be applied to different operating systems, Dr. Bikshandi replied,

"...I configured a basic palm based hand-held device to run important clinical applications by performing minor tweaks. The configured device is currently operational and capable of synchronising over the internet and even checking e-mail. I have also conceived the idea of providing a SPIX (single point information exchange), which is a blueprint for an elementary network using the built-in infra-red port provided with many hand-helds in a hospital/clinic set up. The design can network doctors and other healthcare professionals in an institutional setting with no specialised hardware requirement or huge investment."



Obviously, until we see a working example, it will be difficult to comment on it. But it is nice to see some innovation still finding its way into the standalone PDA market. The recommended price in June was about Rs 10,000 (Rupees), which was about $220.00 at the time. There is a possibility that the price will be decreased if demand is increased. This could be interesting if it ever comes to life.

(Originally written in June, 2006).

LDD.