Rugged, 15-pound device serves as a portable emergency room

The new LifeBot 5 is a small device that's designed to serve as a portable emergency room.

We’ve seen many tech-enabled innovation over the years that seek to revolutionize the delivery of life-saving healthcare outside the hospital, but recently we came across one that appears to take the most all-encompassing step yet. Whereas many efforts have focused on a narrowly defined need – the emergency cooling vest for heart attack victims, for instance – the new LifeBot 5 is a small, rugged device that’s designed to serve as a portable emergency room. The LifeBot 5 is based on technology called Disaster Relief and Emergency Medical Services, or DREAMS, which is the result of USD 14 million in funding through US Army Medical Research and Materiel Command and the Telemedicine and Technology Research Center (TATRC) as a congressionally funded military research project. Arizona-based LifeBot now owns the exclusive worldwide license to DREAMS, and has reduced the system to a miniaturized, lightweight and portable unit that may be used anywhere at any time, including outside the ambulance. The system offers live transmission of voice and video as well as complete patient physiologic data, including ECG, 12-lead STEMI, blood gases, ultrasound, e-PCR, EHR, blood pressure, and more. Not only can the technology use multiple cellular providers for communication with the hospital, but it can also automatically integrate 3G, 4G, Wi-Fi, WiMAX, LTE, satellite, and military data radio. The LifeBot 5 has the first live ePCR (Electronic Patient Call Report) system built-in, the company says, but its browser interfaces are also integrated to provide ready access to others. A Philips FR3 miniature AED (Automatic External Defibrillator), meanwhile, is also included. Perhaps best of all, however, is that the LifeBot 5 spares medical practitioners the need to cobble together separate products or systems. “This can not only provide higher levels of care, but also save money, substantially lower the chances of risks or errors, and save lives,” the company explains. The video below explains the basic LifeBot system in more detail: The pricing begins at less than USD 20,000 and the new LifeBot 5 is due to ship in the next few weeks. Medical entrepreneurs: one to get involved in? Spotted by: Tracy Chong