Nurses at the University of Minnesota Medical Center began using ASCOM “smartphones” about six months ago, according to a report on Fox News. While the handsets are note “smartphones” in the traditional sense, they do seem to cut down on the wait time it takes for nurses to answer patients’ beckons since the handsets are always on the nurse’s belt or around their neck. The handsets also integrate into some of the hospitals medical equipments, so if there’s a problem with a patient’s pulse rate, for example, they get an alert.
The video below includes a brief demonstration of the handsets in use at the facility. We tend to agree more with the nurse who called the phones glorified “Walkie-Talkies” and less with the Fox News reporter who dubbed them “smartphones.” View the video after the jump: