Handheld Technology: Hardware, Applications, and Practical

Implementation in Clinical Education

Robert B. Trelease, Ph.D.

Associate Professor and

Associate Director,

Instructional Design and Technology Unit Dean’s Office, UCLA School of Medicine

Handheld Generations I:• Generation 1: The Apple Newton (RIP 1998)• MessagePad 2000/2100 Specifications:

– Size: 1.12" x 4.7" x 8.3".

– Weight: 22.4 ounces

– Processor/Chip: 160 MHz StrongARM SA-110 RISC

– RAM: 5MB (2100 has 8 MB)

– ROM: 8MB

– Power/Battery: 4 AA alkaline batteries (optional rechargeable)

– Screen Type: transflective backlit LCD, Touch Screen Resolution: 100 dpi; Size: 480 by 320

– PCMCIA Slot(s): Two Type II PC Card slots

– Ports: Serial, sound I/O

Handheld Generations II:• Generation 2+: Palm (Pilots) and Their Siblings

– Size: 0.67 " x 3.17 " x 5.06 " (IIIc)

– Weight: 6.8 ounces (IIIc)

– Processor/Chip: Motorola 68328(EZ) 16-33 MHz

– RAM: 2-8 MB

– ROM: 2MB

– Power/Battery: 2 AAA alkaline batteries (optional rechargeable)

– Screen Type: TFT active matrix, Touch Screen Resolution: 100 dpi; Size: 160 by 160, grayscale or color (to 16 bit)

– Expansion Slot(s): SpringBoard, TRG, m505, CLIE

– Ports: Serial/USB and IRdA and speaker

Handheld Generations III:• Generation 3+: WinCE (3.1) Pocket PCs

– Size: 0.68" x 3.28" x 5.11" (iPAQ bare)

– Weight: ~6 ounces

– Processors/Chips: 133-206 MHz RISCs

– RAM: 16-32 MB

– ROM: 16 MB

– Power/Battery: rechargeable

– Screen Type: TFT active matrix, Touch Screen Resolution: 100 dpi; Size: 240 by 320

– Expansion Slot(s): CF, Expansion Pack (iPAQ)

– Ports: Serial/USB and IRdA

– Built-in ‘CD-quality stereo (speaker/outputs) and microphone

Useful Resources for Medical Education and Clinical Development

• Personal Information Manager (PIM) utilities

• PDA-dedicated Web sites (e.g., HandHeldMed)

• Programming Environments (CodeWarrior, etc) and the PalmOS Simulator (POSE)

• Document Readers (TealDoc, AportisDoc, iSilo, MobiPocket, HandHeldMed Reader, Acrobat!)

• Database managers (Jfile, HanDBase)

• Web (Clipping) browsers (e.g. AvantGo)

• Patient records (PatientTracker, PatientKeeper, 5 Minute Clinical Consult)

• Pharmacopeiae (ePocrates qRx, Tarrascon, PDR)

• Decision Support (e.g. MedRules)

• Reference Books (e.g. Harrison’s)

Useful Resourcesm for Medical EducationDoc Readers

Document Readers (use “DOC” PDB files) TealDoc, AportisDoc, iSilo, MobiPocket, HandHeldMed Reader

Document can be prepared with standard programs (e.g., Word) and converted to PDBs (e.g., with a Word filter or MakeDocW.exe)

DOCs can contain internal links and indexingSome DOC readers multifunction (e.g., iSILO handling HTML)DOC PDBs can be downloaded from Web sites for loading at synchronization

Useful Resources PDAs: Adobe Acrobat

Did We Have to Program PDA Applications from Scratch?

• Processor code crafting (e.g., C with CodeWarrior) takes plenty of time AND it would tend to be fairly platform specific

• Code crafting also takes considerable lead time, SO

• Wasn’t there any way to take advantage of existing Web development expertise AND repurpose existing Web content for more portable use on PDAs?

• Could essentially the same content be used for different types of PDAs (e.g., Palm OS and Pocket PC)?

Did We Have to Program PDA Applications from Scratch? NO!

• Processor code crafting (e.g., C with CodeWarrior) takes plenty of time AND it would tend to be fairly platform specific

• Code crafting also takes considerable lead time, SO

• Wasn’t there any way to take advantage of existing Web development expertise AND repurpose existing Web content for more portable use on PDAs? YES!

• Could essentially the same content be used for different types of PDAs (e.g., Palm OS and Pocket PC)? YES!

• AvantGo was an answer.

Useful Resources for Medical Education - AvantGo

What is it?

Client- and server-side software for downloading and “clipping” content from Web servers AND interacting with online databases through Web Uis. AvantGo can be used with PalmOS, Pocket PCs, and RIM Blackberry 2-way wireless email ‘pager’ devices

What’s on the Client side?

A streamlined, graphics-capable PDA Web browser (offline AND online) and workstation sync software (“Channels Manager”) that downloads Web pages filtered by the AvantGo Server

What’s on the Server side?

A modified Apache Web server that maintains a database of user- selected URLs and delivers this selected content to Clients at synchronization

Useful Resources for Medical Education - AvantGo

How do I get AvantGo?

The free (“public’) Client software is downloadable from www.avantgo.com. Some PDAs ship with it. Commercial (“Enterprise”) Server and Client software can be purchased from AvantGo

What’s kind of content can the public AvantGoClient deliver?

Basic text and graphics Web pages, including tables and menus, but NO FRAMES; standard HTML, ASP, and Cold Fusion pages

What else is included in the Enterprise AvantGo client?

ECMA 2 compatible Javascript capability (ECMA 3 coming), registered SSL key, ability to deliver PDB and PRC files, XML compatibility in next release

Special HTML Coding for AvantGo Pages (Not much!)

Useful Resources for PDAs: AvantGo and PalmOS

Useful Resources PDAs: AvantGo and Pocket PC

Negotiating Secured Servers with AvantGo

Accessing Online Databases with AvantGo

Via HTML forms, ASP, or Cold Fusion (below)

AvantGo Direct Connection to WebServers Via Wireless Ethernet

Current School of Medicine PDA Curriculum Page

Current School of Medicine PDA Admin Channels Page

Current School of Medicine PDA Curriculum Page

Default AvantGo Public Login Page

Default AvantGo Public Channel Page

Default AvantGo Enterprise Home Page

Default AvantGo Enterprise Client Download Page

Default AvantGo Enterprise Palmos Client Download Page

Default AvantGo Enterprise Conduits (Channels) Page

What Next?

• Pocket PCs push Palm OS PDA manufacturers to enhance device capabilities

• Increasing power and capability of handheld devices

• Convergence of Phone, Page, and PIM technologies

• Wearable computer technology evolves

• Enhanced display technologies (e.g., ocular displays)

• More flexible high-speed networking

The End (or the Beginning)

Thanks for your interest!