An Apple a day
Many believe that Apple devices take the lead in both consumer and hospital applications. Some of Apple's notable products include the iMac, iPod, iPhone and iPod Touch. Apple manufacturers everything from personal computers used at home to computers used in hospitals for recording and interpreting complicated medical procedures and findings. The Apple iPod and iPhone are used for hundreds of applications from educational to entertainment purposes in homes and healthcare facilities all over the world.

Garden of Eden
It all began when Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak invented the first personal computer and launched Apple Computer Company in the mid 1970s. Their first computer was simple, came without a memory board, power supply or keyboard. The first Apple I computers sold for under $700 and the young company was listed in the Fortune 500.

In 1977, the Apple II found its way into medical offices and hospitals throughout the country. At the same time, hospital information systems started using online data communications technology to provide instant access to computerized databases.

IBM
In 1980, IBM entered the picture realizing the need to build a smaller, stand-alone computer. Bill Gates convinced IBM to use a larger chip (16 bit), more RAM and to license Microsoft Operating Systems (DOS). Gates contracted with IBM to write software for the machine.

During this time and well into the 1990s, systems for healthcare were being developed and included patient care data sets, a computerized system for effective healthcare clinical systems, capturing data at the point of care and managed care and patient-centered computing environments.

In 1997, the Nightingale Tracker went into Beta Testing. The Nightingale Tracker is a portable communication system utilizing a PDA that allowed nurses and students in the field to communicate with instructors who are office-based.

The introduction of the i
The twenty-first century saw iPods, and iPhones make their way into the healthcare arena, as hospitals and clinics were encouraged to go high tech.

Sanjay Dalal, President and Managing Director at Innovation Index Group, Inc. is an innovation expert. He believes that leading applications for the iPhone are becoming increasingly important and relevant for the consumer and physician alike. One application is Epocrates Rx in the healthcare category. "Within the first month of launch, the Epocrates Rx drug and formulatory software was downloaded onto iPhones by more than 125,000 users -25,000 physicians and over 100,000 consumers," says Dalal.

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