Motion Computing makes several Mobile Clinical Assistants (MCA), including the popular Motion C5 tablet. Don’t be confused by the MCA moniker, a MCA is simply a rugged tablet PC with some additional features like a barcode or RFID scanner and a digital camera. You can get more information on MCAs at the Intel website.
I’ve been fairly critical of this class of device in the past for several reasons. After using the Motion C5 for several weeks last year I found the 10.4 inch screen much too small for everyday use. In addition the design of the placement for the barcode scanner in the handle made the MCA too cumbersome to be really effective in patient care areas; it required too much manipulation to scan patient wrist bands. The nurses I’ve worked with tend to agree.
With that said, I can see using the Motion C5 as a secondary device when a mobile solution is necessary. It’s not really a bad tablet computer. It runs a full blown operating system like Windows XP and can be docked for use with keyboard and mouse after all. So when I saw that Motion Computing created the MCW-200 (Mobile Clinical Workstation) for the C5, I decided to give it a second look.
The MCW-200 is a computer on wheels, a.k.a. COW, which offers a docking station for the Motion C5 MCA on the back of the cart. It’s a very interesting concept. The ability to dock the C5 on the back of the COW gives nursing the flexibility to use a larger monitor, full keyboard and mouse on a mobile platform when needed, but the flexibility to pop the C5 out of the dock when a more mobile platform is desired. Why didn’t I think of that?
According to Motion Computing:
“The MCW-200, Motion’s most advanced clinical workstation, is fully integrated and highly flexible. Offering up to 15 hours of battery life*, it leaves clinicians free to focus on patient care, not battery management. Durable and maneuverable, the MCW-200 is available with numerous computing options to support an extensive range of applications. The MCW-200 is designed in compliance to the IEC-60601-1 standard to ensure conformity with international biomedical safety standards.”
The only thing I don’t see is an option to use my favorite Motion MCA, the J3400, on the MCW-200 instead of the C5.
