The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has cleared the device for sale in the U.S. Intel did not provide a price for it and said it will be available through medical service providers.

The device includes a 10.4-inch touch screen, an Intel Core-based processor, a 40G-byte hard drive, a webcam, four USB (Universal Serial Bus) ports and Bluetooth wireless connectivity. It has a speaker so that visually impaired patients can hear instructions.

Intel designed the device and tried to simplify the interface with elderly patients in mind, knowing they can be overwhelmed by technology, said Julie Cherry, a registered nurse and director of product marketing at Intel. The company found during research that some elderly people are concerned that webcams would breach their privacy. To tackle that, Intel put a cover on the device's webcam.

The Senior Care Action Network Health Plan (SCAN), a health care organization, is deploying the device on a trial basis later this month with the aim of being able to treat patients more quickly. About 60 percent of SCAN's members have chronic conditions and trouble walking, said Hank Osowski, senior vice president for corporate development at SCAN.

"We'll be able to get to more people in time via the data and the information," Osowski said. For example, if medical data shows any abnormality, nurses from the organization can call and intervene early, Osowski said.