The US Food and Drug Administration on Thursday cleared Intel Health Guide, a healthcare management tool developed by Intel Corp., which allows patients to stay in touch with their physicians and receive the necessary information for dealing with their conditions.

The new tool includes a small touch-screen PC running Windows XP and a web portal that helps connect patients and doctors. The device can also be connected to a number of the most commonly used medical devices which monitor a patient’s vitals signs such as blood-pressure monitors, glucose meters, pulse oximeters, peak flow meters and weight scales. All this information can be relayed via the internet to caregivers, who can monitor the patient’s state of health and provide education and management information as needed.
 
“We’re focusing on chronic conditions and that’s approaching a billion patients. The system will enable those people to connect with their caregivers from home,” Louis Burns, vice president and general manager of Intel’s Digital Health Group, told Reuters in a telephone interview.

Research and experiments involving the new device were carried in the United States and the United Kingdom. The company is still doing pilot studies. Initial results suggest the new device will save money besides allowing the elderly “to be active participants in what’s going on with their health.”
 
Intel, the world’s biggest computer chip maker, is expected to launch Health Guide during the latter part of the year or early 2009.