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Getting Connected
It's a Tuesday morning sometime in the year 2012. Mary Jones, a
75-year-old woman, wakes up to hear a friendly voice coming from a
box on her bureau. "Hello, Mary, it's time to take your blood
pressure," the voice says. Mary picks up the blood pressure cuff on
her nightstand and slips it over her wrist. Within a matter of
seconds, the device transmits the reading to a computer at her
doctor's office several miles away. The computer registers the data
and sends a wireless signal back to Mary's medication dispenser,
letting the unit know that the regular dosage of blood pressure
pills need to be dispensed.
Sound farfetched? In fact, this scenario could become the norm
for many people, thanks to a group of medical and consumer
electronics companies. These firms recently joined forces to develop
high-tech healthcare products. The Continua Health Alliance will set
up a system of interconnected health and fitness products and
services. With 22 member companies to date, the alliance includes
medical OEMs such as Medtronic, GE Healthcare, and Welch Allyn. The
group's goal is to make it simple for patients and healthcare
providers to work together in personal health management.
 The big idea behind the
alliance is connectivity. The group will develop its networking
standards by looking at existing technology. This will make it
easier for Continua's partners to build medical devices that "talk"
to each other. There's also a plan to create a product certification
program that will mark interoperable devices with a distinctive
logo.
The driving force behind the group is computer chip giant Intel.
And while Continua could be seen as merely a platform for the
chipmaker to break into the booming healthcare market, the end
result holds a lot of promise.
As more OEMs look to make their devices work with other systems
or send data to healthcare providers, the more important it will be
to understand and incorporate connectivity and data standards into
the design and engineering of products. By getting involved in the
early stages of this alliance, suppliers of medical components,
materials, and equipment can make sure that their voices are heard.
Companies interested in joining can visit Continua's Web site at
www.continuaalliance.org.
Corinne Litchfield
Associate Editor,
MPMN
Products from the MPMN Mailbox
The editors of MPMN receive hundreds of press releases on
medical device components each week. Read on for what we thought
were the most eye-catching products and services that have recently
come across our desk.
Surface-Mount Switches
Nonmagnetic Multipin Connectors
Low-Profile Rotary Stage
Hypotube
Wire EDM Services
E-Newsletter Exclusive
Bluetooth SIG Announces Medical Device
Working Group
Read more...
Read more news features in the June 2006 issue of
MPMN.
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