Honeywell Healthcare Solutions Vice President and GM Robert Robinson appears Tuesday at Sensors Converge in San Jose to address how AI and ML will change the healthcare landscape to improve patient care. The company provides technologies affecting a patient’s first visit, diagnosis and all the way to the return home from care. Honeywell Healthcare focuses on everything from essential personal protective equipment to clinician productivity and mobility tools and scan engines and sensors for medical devices.Robinson offered Fierce Electronics a few insights.
Can you offer a quick overview of your Sensors Converge presentation?
Robinson: I’ll be diving into the growing role of artificial intelligence and machine learning within the healthcare space. The role sensors can play in patient care extends far beyond capturing data. With the use of smart technology such as artificial intelligence and machine learning, we can begin driving the next chapter in the convergence between data and device.
There has been vast change in the healthcare industry over the last couple of years and with it, the opportunity for advanced technology to change the playing field. What innovations are you excited about that have transformed - or will soon transform - healthcare and improve patient outcomes?
Robinson: To start – the advancement of smart sensors will expedite innovation within healthcare. When looking at guided therapeutics, for example, as sensors become more advanced, patients, as well as their providers, will be able to be guided through sensor-driven analytics, providing real-time connections. Ultimately, this enhances the level of individualization of care and gives providers mass amounts of patient data to be fed into learning systems for deeper insights.
What is Honeywell doing to improve patient outcomes and power future healthcare?
Robinson: COVID-19 highlighted the need for bringing efficiencies in healthcare delivery. From developing sensors and switch solutions that enhance the performance and reliability of ventilators, to protecting frontline workers with personal protective equipment, we have made significant investments in helping the industry respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. With our robust portfolio of healthcare technologies, Honeywell is committed to providing innovative solutions that drive better patient outcomes delivered in efficient, safe and secure environments and provide the quality, durability and value needed to help deliver safer, more effective healthcare.
AI, ML, sensors and other advanced technologies are moving the needle in healthcare, but what are some applications you’re involved in or excited about within other industries?
Robinson: At Honeywell we have one of the broadest switch and sensing portfolios available in the industry. Whether Honeywell products are used in hospitals, commercial aircraft or dark warehouses, these products help equip people and systems with the information they need to operate safely and efficiently. An area outside of the healthcare space that I am excited about is the role sensors play in the rise of electrification. Many automotive manufactures have already signaled that by 2030 a significant volume of their business will focus on electric vehicles. This means there is a tremendous need to manage the safety of lithium-ion batteries within these vehicles to prevent fires caused by thermal runaway. Sensing capabilities can help detect hazardous conditions and Honeywell is excited to play a role in the energy transition.
What’s ahead for Honeywell in the healthcare space?
Robinson: Looking ahead, Honeywell is focused on advancing modern medicine and helping providers, patients and medical device companies rethink how they tackle challenges and integrate innovation. Upgrading old equipment and developing new equipment to take advantage of new sensor innovations is top of mind, as we look to improve patient care within hospitals and at home. I envision a future where every patient has access to quality, secure and effective care and every caregiver has access to digital tools that make their jobs easier and more efficient. Honeywell is enabling digital health and driving digitization of health care and clinical flow processes. We’re prepared to play a critical role in delivering on this vision and shaping the future of healthcare.
Editor’s Note: Robinson will speak at 9:35 a.m. June 28 at Sensors Converge in San Jose. Registration is online.