Panasonic offers Toughbook for clinicians

Good news to fans of MCA (Mobile Clinical Assistant), there is another new player in town – Panasonic !

Introducing the Panasonic Toughbook CF-H1, touted as the first fully rugged MCA and “the first device of its kind to integrate the low power Intel Atom processor” (leading to six hours of battery life)

‘Designed by clinicians for clinicians’, the CF-H1 is a light-weight (about 1.5 kg), water-resistant, low surface heat, shock and drop-tolerant, disinfected (phew, that’s a mouthful) mobile computing device to meet the demands of a fast paced clinical environment while offering enhanced ergonomics over other MCA devices (like a comfortable-to-use integrated hand strap and conveniently placed barcode reader).

Other bells and whistles includes an integrated RFID reader, 2.0 megapixel auto-focus camera with dual LED lights, contactless smart card reader and fingerprint readers for user authentication.

In addition, the CF-H1 is designed for easy disinfection, fanless design (limiting opportunities for germs to be transported by the device), smooth surface with sealed buttons, a gapless LCD screen, basically leaving no no exposed ports, what so ever (cool!).

Are there any downside? I have no idea, never see / use the CF-H1 yet (maybe I should start a product review page) the Panasonic Toughbook H1 MCA will be available worldwide early next year but but for those interested, Panasonic Canada has evaluation units and is placing them with healthcare organizations that are interested in testing the device.