• DNV Certified Industrial Ethernet Networks for Maritime and Offshore Applications

• Communication Network for Tunnel Monitoring System
• Getting Networked Helps Medical Professionals Provide Patients with Better Healthcare

• MOXA Software Partner Program Kicked Off on August 15
• Over 120 Attendees Participate in the MOXA 2005 Intelligent Transportation System Forum in China

• White Paper: Why You Should Choose Linux as Your Embedded Systems Operating Platform
• Flash Demo: Link your Serial Devices to a Wireless Network Instantly

Automation control equipment and devices have replaced many conventional systems that were used previously for maritime and offshore applications. In fact, more and more automation control equipment, such as PLCs and devices for field I/O, now come with a built-in Ethernet interface. Ethernet has become the solution of choice to network automation systems for marine and offshore applications. A related development is that some Ethernet devices, such as certain types of switches and media converters, are now rugged enough to be used with maritime applications, including DNV certified Ethernet Switches and Media Converters from Moxa.

DNV and Maritime/Offshore Applications

DNV's rise to being a leader in supplying risk management services to the international oil and gas industry began in the 1960's when Norway got started with oil and gas exploration. The services that DNV provides to the oil and gas industry are varied. Presently, DNV classifies 30 percent of the offshore oil and gas tonnage for the entire world. It also provides expert assistance with offshore constructions and plants, from the planning and designing stages, all the way through building, operation, and even decommissioning.

Maritime as the Next Step in the Ethernet Trend

This trend of using Ethernet for industrial applications has taken a new twist with the realization that Ethernet can be used to solve communications problems for a number of marine applications. In fact, many industrial Ethernet devices—such as Moxa's own switches and media converters—designed originally for applications on land, have been found equally well suited for use in adverse marine-type environments. Examples include battleships and ocean liners, which when fully manned could be home to several thousand soldiers or passengers. Energy related applications, such as offshore drilling platforms, tide-power generation systems, and offshore windmill farms, could also benefit from using Ethernet.

Click here to link to the "Marine" section of our website for more information about Moxa's Maritime Industrial Ethernet Solutions.

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Introduction
Visiting the doctor's office or staying in the hospital for an extended period of time can be a nerve wracking experience, and medical professionals are always on the lookout for ways to improve the experience of patients under their care. It is now commonplace for clinics and hospitals to be wired to the hilt, and most locations take good advantage of the local network and the Internet to speed up the retrieval and updating of medical records. In recent years, medical facilities have made further improvements by connecting testing and monitoring equipment to the network.

Routine and Intensive Care
One of a nurse's most important duties is to keep a close eye on the status of patients, and then react quickly when an emergency arises. In the past, nurses made regular rounds of the ward by walking from room to room to administer medication, make sure patients were resting comfortably, and take blood pressure and temperature readings. One of the main problems they faced was not being able to watch all of the patients at the same time. If patient B encountered an emergency situation while the nurse was caring for patient A, there's a good chance that patient B's change for the worse would go unnoticed.
UC-7420 provides an economical way for nurses to monitor all of the patients in their ward at the same time. Since UC is small, it occupies less space and is unobtrusive. UC is used as a front-end embedded computer to collect data from the machines and monitoring equipment in the patient's room. The data is then transferred to the nurse's station, so that the team on-duty can monitor the status of all patients at the same time.

Quarantine Ward
Quarantined patients pose a special problem for healthcare professionals, particularly if the quarantine is enforced because the patient has a communicable disease. In this case, the less direct contact doctors and nurses have with the patient, the less likely for them to get infected. As with the routine and intensive care situation, UC-7420 can be used to transmit monitoring data from the quarantine room to a central nurse's station to allow round the clock monitoring.

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Moxa's Software Partner Program, which kicked off on August 15, is looking for qualified third party software vendors to co-work with MOXA to develop business opportunities. Moxa will match business opportunity with qualified Moxa software partner, and our software partners will create applications for Moxa's embedded computers to meet end users' business requirements.

Detailed information about the program is available on Moxa's website at www.moxa.com/uc.

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