BlackBerry Ltd and NantHealth, a cloud-based information technology provider combining science and big data to transform healthcare, have announced the launch of the next generation of the NantHealth HBox, a portable medical device that captures and transmits secure medical data between the patient, doctor and hospital. To power the new mobile HBox, NantHealth selected technology from QNX Software Systems Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of BlackBerry.
The HBox serves as a hub of all medical data related to a patient, and provides easy access to medical records by transmitting information to and from the patient, doctor and point of care. The mobile medical device, powered by the QNX® Neutrino® Operating System (OS), is able to communicate with all legacy computers and devices in healthcare institutions. Currently, HBox collects three billion vital signs annually and transmits that data to thousands of medical devices and 250 hospitals throughout the U.S.
“Combining BlackBerry’s embedded software reliability, mobile device management and security technology with NantHealth’s ability to develop leading health care devices and platform creates a powerful strategic relationship,” said John Chen, executive chairman and CEO, BlackBerry. “We look forward to continued collaboration where we leverage our respective strengths to improve patient healthcare.”
“With HBox, we have created a ‘human signal’ capturing device that automatically and securely transmits, through our HIPAA-compliant ‘NantCloud,’ critical medical data and vital signs to the mission control center,” said Patrick Soon-Shiong, M.D., founder and CEO of NantHealth. “Instantly and safely connecting the patient with the doctor and hospital allows for a higher quality of healthcare, expediting diagnosis and treatment, as well as more efficiently and accurately providing vital information into the hands of those in need.”
The QNX enabled HBox will be compatible with BlackBerry’s BES enterprise mobility management platform in the coming months. HBox, once integrated with BES, will be fully encrypted to allow deployment in a HIPAA-secured environment, enabling clinicians and patients to securely access and receive medical information as soon as it is available, wherever they are.
The HBox marks the second innovative product resulting from the collaboration of BlackBerry and NantHealth. Last month, the two companies announced the first secure clinical genome browser, the NantOmics Cancer Genome Browser™, which provides doctors unprecedented access to patients’ genetic data on the BlackBerry® Passport smartphone.
