[May 16, 2013] Polycom announces alliances with Anybots and Vivify Health Tweet May 16, 2013 (Datamonitor via COMTEX) -- Polycom, Inc., a provider of unified communications and collaboration solutions, announced alliances with Anybots Inc., a robotics company, and Vivify Health, Inc., a patient-monitoring company, to develop new video collaboration solutions that can help reduce unnecessary rehospitalizations. The company has also announced the availability of Polycom RealPresence CloudAXIS Suite that extends enterprise-grade video collaboration to anyone with a browser and Web camera, enabling healthcare organizations to connect face-to-face with patients or other experts outside the hospital. "Today our healthcare system is challenged with an aging population, too few practitioners, and adjusting to a major change in its approach to patient care. With collaborative video solutions you can address access, prevention and wellness, and continuation of care, all of which becomes important as we try to tackle the problem of unnecessary rehospitalizations," said Dr Deborah A. Jeffries, Director Global Healthcare Marketing, Polycom. "Video collaboration solutions such as Polycom RealPresence CloudAXIS Suite enable healthcare organizations to extend video to anyone that has a camera and Web browser, so now healthcare practitioners can easily reach patients in their homes to provide an increased level of care or easily consult with other experts outside the hospital." According to Polycom, video-enabled applications such as robots and tablet apps give medical specialists flexibility in how they schedule appointments, including virtual house calls, whether in the office, at the hospital, on the go or at home. The first in a series of Polycom video-enabled robots from Anybots, the self-balancing two-wheeled QB robot is equipped with a tablet running the Polycom RealPresence Mobile software for a secure HD video session. The maneuverability of the QB can be controlled remotely by administrative personnel, specialists such as language interpreters, or medical care practitioners who can use the robot to evaluate the safety and suitability of the patient's environment. For patients at home, the robot provides a virtual technology option that can help them return to work, school and social activities sooner. The patient can request a video meeting with a healthcare professional by selecting the video option in the Vivify solution; this launches the Polycom RealPresence Mobile software. Similarly, if the healthcare professional monitoring the patient's data wants to schedule a video meeting or initiate an ad hoc session, they would launch a Polycom RealPresence video collaboration solution, such as Polycom RealPresence Desktop, to start a video meeting directly with the patient. Polycom RealPresence CloudAXIS Suite is a software extension of the Polycom RealPresence Platform, enabling universal access to enterprise-grade video collaboration people, allowing healthcare organizations to meet face-to-face with anyone with a browser, whether they are on a PC, mobile device or video room system. In addition, by integrating Skype, Facebook and Google Talk contacts in the industry's first global presence-aware personal directory, the solution combines the click-to-connect convenience of a Web app with the enterprise-grade, secure experience required for organizations to scale to hundreds or thousands of video users. http://www.datamonitor.com Republication or redistribution, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without prior written consent. Datamonitor shall not be liable for errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]