ARRA promotes 'domain-specific' computing at UCLA, while Best Buy joins with cardiac device maker on HIT effort

Though "meaningful use" may be the centerpiece, there's a lot more health IT in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act than just the Medicare and Medicaid incentives to adopt EMRs. For example, the new UCLA Center for Domain-Specific Computing has received a five-year, $10 million ARRA grant from the National Science Foundation to produce a prototype computer that will help physicians quickly analyze scans from imaging and other medical equipment.

The grant is part of a movement away from general-purpose computing in healthcare toward more specialized hardware and software, according to a story in US News and World Report, with contributions from the National Science Foundation.

"Today, it takes hours, hopefully, with our prototype it could take minutes," Jason Cong, director of the UCLA center, is quoted as saying. "These computers will take an existing image and do the analysis." While the technology isn't intended to replace an X-ray technician or a radiologist, it "will greatly facilitate the process," he says.

In a related development, consumer electronics mega-retailer Best Buy is teaming with heart-monitoring vendor Cardiac Science Corp. to help small and mid-sized physician offices adopt new medical technologies, such as Cardiac Science's HeartCentrix, which connects ECG, stress and Holter-test devices to EMRs. 

"Cardiac Science customers who want IT sales and service support can now turn to a Best Buy For Business team specifically trained in Cardiac Science products," Dave Marver, president and CEO of Bothell, Wash.-based Cardiac Science, says in a press release. "Physicians can concentrate on providing the best patient care, knowing they have the best technological and medical device support available to them."

For further details:
- check out this US News & World Report story
- see this Best Buy/Cardiac Science press release

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