SmartLife's "Health Vest" hopes

SmartLife Technology is hoping its 'Health Vest' - which measures the wearer's temperature, heart rate and breathing - will enable the firm to achieve sales of more than £10 million by 2012, says Manchester Evening News.

Chief executive Mark Pedley is targeting markets in the US as SmartLife gears up to launch the garment later this year.

So far, SmartLife has received £2 million in funding to develop the vest, which has a series of sensors that transmit data via Bluetooth technology to a computer or mobile phone.

According to HES, the UK National Health Service (NHS) needs to develop strategies that will enable it to effectively plan for healthcare in an environment where the pace and extent of innovation in service models, consumer behaviour and technology is hard to predict, according to the NHS Confederation.

In 'Disruptive innovation: what does it mean for the NHS?', released at its annual conference, the NHS Confederation examines the challenges posed by innovations that are likely to have a significant impact on the way services are delivered in the NHS over the next 15 years.

Telehealth and telecare, for example, may not produce major savings, but are likely to have a significant impact on where money is spent in the system, shifting it from hospital to out-of-hospital care.

Emerging Health Information Technology and Davincian Technologies have entered into an alliance in response to the growing challenge healthcare organisations face to improve cash flow, reduce bad debt and enhance business office productivity, states RedOrbit.

The alliance will create a powerful solution that will automate the processes of insurance eligibility verification, claim status inquiry and claims management across the financial enterprise.

Jack Wolf, Emerging Health's president and CEO, said, "Our agreement with Davincian positions Emerging Health to offer a wide range of revenue cycle solutions. Their solutions are unique to the healthcare industry and will help us better serve the needs of our clients. We are confident that this alliance further solidifies our market strategy to be a leader in healthcare financial information technology."