Medical researchers in Philips and Intel are working closely together to make work easier for medical professionals worldwide by boosting the ability to record the conditions of patients who are undergoing treatment.

The device is much like a custom-built PDA which is intended for doing quasi-clerical tasks in the medical field. The device can take vital signs, validate blood transfusions, monitor the healing of wounds and even write charts.

Practitioners say that the handheld device has an edge to it- most PDA's are off limits in sterile rooms of medical facilities because of the simple truth that those gadgets can't be boiled or sprayed with disinfectants. This new device, however, is sealed, making it easy to get cleared to get around where it's needed.

The device is set to ship late this year, but as early as now, it may already have a big competitor in the making. A rival company called Motion Computing Inc. has earlier announced that it will launch a similar device priced at ,200.

Both devices aim to make relaying data in the local medical environment smoother by allowing information to transfer seamlessly from the patient to his or her file in direct fashion.

Through their spokeswoman Shanon Love, the Intel corporation expressed their faith that the health care industry is a "big opportunity" for the company.