Intel announced at a medical conference in New Orleans that it will introduce technology which will help homebound patients with chronic medical problems, taking the next step in building a business in health care. Firstly, a set of trials will be conducted, in order to show whether the new tools bring improved results in treating conditions such as diabetes, hypertension and heart disease. Intel and other computer-related companies see big opportunities in health care, saying that, by allowing more people to receive care at home, billions of dollars can be saved. Intel’s offer is called the Intel Health Guide and it includes a simplified computer and software that are designed to help elderly people and other patients monitor and manage their conditions at home. Information about their condition will be sent to health professionals over the Internet.

Intel has been studying medical issues since 1999 and the company accelerated its effort towards thes direction in 2005. In managing home care, health-care organizations want a complete system that can be customized for their needs. Meanwhile, Intel is still discussing pricing for its latest offerings, in part because each deployment may differ greatly in size and scope. In achieving its goals, the company had to make sure its Health Guide is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, a process that took several months. Intel wants to deliver its software to patients on conventional laptop and desktop computers, but each combination of hardware and software would have to go through FDA approval processes.

Intel will not have an easy task whatsoever. Besides the difficulties mentioned before, it will also have competition: a company called Continua, which has been developing standards to help medical devices exchange information. Before they start shipping the products, Intel will test them, and the first testers will be Aetna, Erickson Retirement Communities LLC and Scan Health Plan. An interesting fact shows that another company, Advanced Warning Systems, plans to use Intel’s technology to monitor retired football players and war veterans.