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At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, BlackBerry Ltd. showed
off a device that helps doctors monitor patient health. Called the HBOX,
the gadget helps analyze a patient’s DNA, identifying ailments like
cancer and heart disease. Made by health care firm NantHealth, the HBOX
uses BlackBerry’s services because they are secure enough to comply with
health care data laws. As portable as the Tricorder in "Star Trek," the
device transmits information about a patient to doctors and
hospitals. “Imagine us having an ability like Google Maps, but to browse
every single human patient's genome, find the abnormal letter in
real-time, and tell the doctor what treatment is to be given,"
NantHealth CEO Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong told PCMag. Patients would have
their blood drawn and their DNA genome sequenced. NantHealth’s
supercomputers would then analyze the patient’s genes, sending a message
directly to their doctor’s BlackBerry telling them how to treat the
disease. “We're about to launch 100,000 patients with pre-hypertension
or hypertension ... we'll actually capture their weight, blood pressure,
heart-rate and medication in real time," Soon-Shiong told the
magazine. The HBOX will use its BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) service to
allow patients and doctors to track an illness. A patient could get BBMs
alerting them to take their medicine while doctors could get messages
that track how a treatment is working after the patient leaves their
office. NantHealth uses BlackBerry’s QNX software on its devices. In
December, the two unveiled a service that allows doctors to view
patients’ genetic data on the Canadian manufacturer’s Passport
smartphones.
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