Philips Healthcare inked a nonexclusive patent license deal on July 10th with the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory for mobile software app Battlefield Assisted Trauma Distributed Observation Kit (Batdok), which permits remote real-time patient monitoring.

"By combining exceptional mobility, user experience, and reliability, Philips will use Batdok to improve patient monitoring," Kirk Hendler, Philips' vice president of business development for government solutions said in a statement. "This all-in-one mobile solution will enhance care delivery by bringing critical data to decision-makers."

The software, developed by the 711th Human Performance Wing at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, lets medics monitor multiple casualties in the field via a smartphone or tablet interface. It gets its vital signs and other data from wireless sensors worn by patients, and records that information along with information logged by attending staff, enabling “seamless data transfer” when a patient is handed off.

Hendler saw a demo of the tech last year and the company then worked withTechLink, the Department of Defense's national partnership intermediary for technology transfer, to develop the license application and commercialization plan.

"Many of the DoD's medical inventions have potential dual-use civilian applications," said Joan Wu-Singel, senior technology manager at TechLink. "In this case, Batdok could be used in a hospital setting, ambulances, and we're even imagining it [able to] help address opioid abuse through dosage monitoring."

The Air Force expressed confidence that Philips would roll out the tech for both civilian and military uses. Said Dr. Jim Kearns, technology transfer and domestic alliances manager for the 711th Human Performance Wing, "we're confident Philips will deliver products with multiple levels of benefit," adding that, "the Wing has brilliant people doing cutting-edge research. Collaboration with businesses, case in point, enhances their work and gets it to the war fighter."

Philips was also in the news this week when it announced it is moving another 280 of its remaining Andover, Massachusetts, positions to new locations.

Plans currently slate the departure for 2020, according to Silvie Casanova, Philips director of communications.

About 120 of the positions are heading for the firm's Reedsville, Pennsylvania location, where workers “will have the opportunity to transition with their role,” she noted. About 160 of the slots are heading to Philips' new Cambridge headquarters.

Philips announced in January that it planned to move its North American headquarters from Andover to Cambridge.

“This is a major step for Philips, and comes with our realization that the health care company of the future is going to need to be in a vibrant community where there are startups and academic and clinical institutions within close reach, to allow us to move things forward,” Dr. Joe Frassica, chief medical officer and head of research at Philips, told HCB News at that time.

Philips chose the Cambridge area because it’s in close proximity to academic institutions that it collaborates with, including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, as well as startups that it can co-create new technologies with.

“There is direct access to a really deep talent pool in areas such as artificial intelligence, genomics and imaging,” said Frassica.

In recent years, Philips has slowly transitioned from a conglomerate to a company solely focused on healthcare. It sold its lighting business in March 2015 for $2.8 billion, and acquired a slew of healthcare companies – most recently Forcare and VitalHealth.

“With the focus now purely laser-like on health care and maintenance of health, Philips felt we needed to be deeply committed to a health care ecosystem and collaborative ecosystem where health care innovation was happening,” he added.