The healthcare industry is undergoing a profound transformation, thanks to the Internet of Things (IoT). The integration of IoT technology into healthcare systems is revolutionizing patient care, treatment processes, and medical research. In this article, we’ll explore how IoT is making its mark on the healthcare sector, its key applications, benefits, and the implications for the future of healthcare.

IoT in Healthcare: A Game Changer

The Internet of Things (IoT) refers to the network of interconnected physical devices, vehicles, buildings, and other objects embedded with sensors, software, and network connectivity that allows them to collect and exchange data. In healthcare, IoT is enabling the collection and analysis of vast amounts of patient data, promoting remote monitoring, and enhancing the efficiency of medical facilities.

Key Applications of IoT in Healthcare

1. Remote Patient Monitoring

IoT has enabled healthcare providers to remotely monitor patients with chronic conditions. Wearable devices, such as smartwatches and sensors, collect real-time data on vital signs, activity levels, and other health parameters. This data is transmitted to healthcare providers who can intervene when necessary, offering timely care and preventing hospital readmissions.

2. Smart Medical Devices

IoT is giving rise to a new generation of smart medical devices. From connected inhalers that monitor medication usage to intelligent pill dispensers that send medication adherence reminders, these devices help patients manage their health more effectively and enable healthcare providers to track patient compliance.

3. Telemedicine

Telemedicine, or remote medical consultations, has seen tremendous growth with the help of IoT. Video conferencing and remote monitoring tools allow patients to consult with healthcare professionals from the comfort of their homes. This approach not only increases access to care but also reduces the burden on healthcare facilities.

4. Asset and Inventory Management

IoT is improving the management of medical equipment and supplies. Sensors can track the location and status of medical devices, ensuring their availability when needed. This results in cost savings and reduces the risk of delays in patient care.

5. Clinical Workflow Optimization

IoT can optimize clinical workflows by connecting various systems and devices. For example, electronic health records (EHRs) can be seamlessly integrated with diagnostic equipment, automating data transfer and reducing the risk of errors.

6. Hospital and Home Automation

IoT extends to the management of hospital infrastructure and home care. Smart building systems can control lighting, heating, and cooling, ensuring a comfortable environment for patients. Similarly, home automation systems can be integrated with healthcare devices to support independent living for elderly or disabled individuals.

7. Drug Management and Compliance

IoT is used to monitor drug storage conditions, ensuring that medications remain effective and safe. It can also help patients adhere to their medication regimens by sending reminders and tracking consumption.

Benefits of IoT in Healthcare

The integration of IoT in healthcare offers numerous advantages:

1. Improved Patient Outcomes

Remote monitoring and real-time data analysis enable healthcare providers to intervene promptly when health parameters deviate from normal ranges. This leads to improved patient outcomes, reduced hospital readmissions, and better management of chronic conditions.

2. Enhanced Efficiency

IoT streamlines healthcare workflows by automating various processes, such as patient data entry and medical equipment tracking. This reduces administrative burden, frees up staff time, and reduces errors.

3. Cost Savings

Efficiency gains and improved patient outcomes often translate into cost savings for healthcare facilities and patients. Preventing hospital readmissions and complications reduces the overall cost of care.

4. Increased Accessibility

Telemedicine and remote monitoring extend healthcare access to underserved or remote areas. Patients can consult with specialists without the need for long-distance travel, making healthcare more accessible.

5. Personalized Treatment

IoT allows for personalized treatment plans by continuously monitoring a patient’s condition and adjusting treatment regimens accordingly. This personalized approach often leads to more effective treatment and improved patient satisfaction.

Challenges and Considerations

While IoT in healthcare offers significant benefits, it also poses challenges and considerations:

1. Data Security and Privacy

Healthcare data is sensitive and subject to strict privacy regulations. The secure storage and transmission of patient data is of utmost importance to maintain patient trust and regulatory compliance.

2. Interoperability

IoT devices and systems must be compatible and interoperable to ensure seamless data exchange and integration. This requires the development and adoption of common standards.

3. Regulatory Compliance

The healthcare industry is heavily regulated, and IoT solutions must adhere to these regulations. Compliance with standards such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) is crucial.

4. Data Overload

The continuous collection of patient data can result in information overload. Healthcare providers need effective tools for data management and interpretation to extract valuable insights.

5. Resistance to Change

The adoption of IoT in healthcare requires a cultural shift and staff training. Resistance to change can be a barrier to successful implementation.

The Future of IoT in Healthcare

As technology continues to advance, the future of IoT in healthcare looks promising. Here are some trends and developments to watch for:

1. Artificial Intelligence (AI) Integration

IoT and AI will work hand in hand to analyze vast amounts of patient data and offer insights for diagnosis, treatment, and predictive healthcare.

2. Wearable Health Tech

Wearable devices will continue to evolve, becoming more sophisticated and integrated into daily life. They will offer not only health monitoring but also wellness and lifestyle recommendations.

3. 5G Connectivity

The rollout of 5G networks will provide faster and more reliable connectivity for IoT devices, enabling real-time data transmission and analysis.

4. Blockchain Technology

Blockchain can be used to enhance the security and integrity of healthcare data, ensuring that patient records remain accurate and private.

5. Telehealth Expansion

The growth of telehealth and remote monitoring will continue, extending healthcare access and reducing the need for in-person visits.

Conclusion

IoT is reshaping the healthcare industry, making it more patient-centric, efficient, and accessible. The integration of IoT devices and systems allows for real-time patient monitoring, personalized treatment plans, and enhanced efficiency in healthcare facilities.

Challenges related to data security, interoperability, and regulatory compliance must be addressed to ensure the benefits of IoT in healthcare are fully realized. As IoT technology continues to advance, it will remain a driving force in transforming healthcare, offering a glimpse into a future where healthcare is not just about treating illness but also about preventing it and promoting overall well-being.

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The number of remotely monitored patients grew by 51 percent to 4.9 million in 2015 as the market entered a growth phase fuelled by rising market acceptance in several key verticals.

This number includes all patients enrolled in mHealth care programs in which connected medical devices are used as a part of the care regimen. Connected medical devices used for various forms of personal health tracking are not included in this figure. Berg Insight estimates that the number of remotely monitored patients will grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 48.9 percent to reach 36.1 million by 2020.

The two main applications are monitoring of patients with implantable cardiac rhythm management (CRM) devices and monitoring of patients with sleep therapy devices. These two verticals accounted for 81 percent of all connected home medical monitoring systems in 2015. Telehealth is the third largest segment with 0.41 million connections at the end of the year. All other device categories – including ECG, glucose level, medication adherence and others – stood for less than 0.2 million connections each at the end of the year.

The sleep therapy segment accounted for the majority of the market growth in 2015. ResMed was especially successful with its new Air Solutions family of sleep therapy devices that includes a cellular M2M module as standard and is supported by a comprehensive range of health informatics software that enable healthcare organizations to provide better care more efficiently. ResMed surpassed Medtronic as the world’s largest provider of connected healthcare solutions for remote patient monitoring in 2015. Earlier in 2015, Medtronic became the first company in the world to surpass the milestone of 1.0 million remotely monitored patients.

Another landmark event in 2015 was that cellular connectivity surpassed PSTN and LAN as the most widely used connectivity technology for remote patient monitoring. The number of PSTN-connected devices has started to decline sharply as a result of the decline in PSTN subscriber bases and the forthcoming digitalization of PSTN networks, whereas the use of LAN and Wi-Fi connectivity for remote patient monitoring has remained very limited to date.

Lars Kurkinen, Senior Analyst, Berg Insight, says:

“Cellular continues to be the only technology that can be used to reliably connect every patient with their healthcare providers.”

An emerging alternative is that patients use their own mobile devices as health hubs. The bring your own device (BYOD) model can in theory be very cost-efficient as no dedicated hardware or subscriptions are needed, but accounted for less than two percent of all connections in 2015. Mr. Kurkinen predicts that BYOD will be especially useful for patient-c entric engagement programs in therapeutic areas such as diabetes and asthma that have younger patient demographics compared to many other chronic diseases. In fact, many of these patients will prefer to use their own smartphone as the interface instead of carrying around a dedicated device for remote monitoring.

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Smart pills are ingestible medical devices consisting of elements such as sensors, cameras, patches and trackers that help in better diagnostics and monitoring.

These unique devices can be easily swallowed and offer a non-invasive thorough examination of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. The smart pills also enables comprehensive health monitoring of various physiological metrics and measuring medication adherence in patients.

Smart pill technology has revolutionized the field of GI diagnosis. Smart pills are likely to replace conventional diagnostic techniques such as endoscopy and colonoscopy. Capsule endoscopy is regarded as a major technical innovation, influencing investigation and management of various small bowel diseases, esophageal disorders, colonic disorders etc. Capsule endoscopes are designed to provide complete examination of GIT including images of esophagus, stomach, small intestine and large intestine… The capsule endoscopy segment is gaining a strong foothold in the smart pills market.

The capsule endoscopy is noninvasive and causes minimal discomfort. The magnification obtained, here is of the order 1:8, which is much higher as compared to the conventional endoscopy. Various capsule endoscopes available in the market include small bowel capsule, colon capsule and esophagus capsule endoscopes. Small bowel capsule is the most commonly used capsule endoscope in patients with acute gastrointestinal bleeding or to detect symptoms of active Crohn’s disease (CD).On the other hand, esophagus capsule endoscopes are used to diagnose esophagitis and Barrett’s esophagus.

Companies today are focusing on exploring the field of gastroenterology. Recent studies by various researchers to develop products have enabled clinicians to obtain clearer & better images of the GI tract which offers new hope for gastrointestinal cancer detection. Recently, researchers from Chinese University of Hong Kong, have developed an advanced endoscope known as ‘Tadpole Endoscope (TE), which mimics the movement of tadpoles’. TE is different from existing wireless capsule endoscopes since the presence of a soft tail enables it to be guided around the GI tract remotely by a clinician. This allows for better imaging of the stomach and thereby helping in the accurate location of problems.

Recently in 2014, Given Imaging Ltd, a pioneer of capsule endoscopy received FDA clearance for PillCam COLON. The device provides new modality to ensure clear visualization of the colon in patients following incomplete colonoscopy. According to some recent studies, incomplete colonoscopies occur in approximately 750,000 patients in the United States alone every year. The number is further higher in women due to an increase in past pelvic surgeries. There is a growing demand for such devices among patients having long case history of abdominal surgery or advanced stage of diverticular disease. This non-invasive test enabled by PillCam COLON allows more people to get screened for colorectal cancer, and gives a minimally invasive, radiation-free option. These devices in the market have revolutionized colorectal cancer diagnostics and screening market worldwide. The following infographics shows how the product PillCam COLON works.

Another key application of smart pills is patient monitoring that includes monitoring of parameters such as pH, temperature, pressure and drug adherence in patients. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) estimate, over 50% of us fail to take medicines correctly, while over 50% of drugs are prescribed or sold inappropriately. This leads to disastrous consequences, resulting in significant complications and deterioration of patient health. The situation aggravates with ageing of patients, since they often require management of one or more chronic conditions with multiple medications. The trend may also cost healthcare providers millions every year.

To deal with such non-adherence in patients due to various reasons, Proteus Digital Health, Inc. California-based Proteus Digital Health and Otsuka Pharmaceuticals have developed smart pill having an ingestible sensor. The digital pill is first of its kind to be approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as an aid to measure medication adherence. The new drug application accepted by FDA was for an oral tablet that combines Otsuka’s branded antipsychotic Abilify (aripiprazole) with an embedded ingestible sensor device developed by Proteus Digital Health The ingestible device consists of minuscule sensors made of silicon along with metals-magnesium and copper, present in traces. The device gets powered on when the metals come in contact with stomach acids thereby triggering the sensor to generate signals that can be picked up by a disposable bandage-like patch worn by patient. The patch relays information to a mobile phone application.

With the patient’s consent, the information can be assessed by caregivers and clinicians, thus helping individuals to develop and sustain healthy habits. Furthermore, it enables medical practitioners and doctors to offer more effective, data-driven health-care. The application can track the drug’s effects – whether it’s been prescribed at the right dosage, or if it simply isn’t having any effect on the patient’s body…

There are many research studies done by market research firms which tracks the current and future market trends along with offering an insight into the key drivers and growth opportunities of the market across major regions. As per a recent report by Allied Market Research, the smart pills technology market would reach $627.1 million, globally, by 2020, registering 21.2% CAGR during the forecast period 2015-2020.

In future, technological advancements to enhance the features of smart pills such as non-invasiveness, patient convenience and real time monitoring would drive their adoption rate in patient monitoring, diagnostic imaging and drug delivery.

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IoT platform connects all stakeholders in the new consumer-centric health care ecosystem to promote better lifestyle changes.

ThingWorx, a PTC® business and leading Internet of Things (IoT) platform provider, announced today that ICURO, a consumer-centric care outcomes research and digital health management organization, has selected the ThingWorx® IoT Platform to power its intelligent care models by delivering personalized, actionable health information to consumers in order to promote sustainable healthy habits.

According to a McKinsey & Company report “The big data revolution in healthcare: Accelerating value and innovation,” the era of open information in healthcare has begun. This means that industry payors and providers are beginning to analyze data in order to obtain insights that could identify patterns which could improve treatments and deliver personalized health care information for better lifestyle choices.

ICURO is using the ThingWorx IoT Platform to launch its digital hub for consumer-centric care. It enables ICURO to connect all stakeholders in the new consumer-centric ecosystem consisting of providers, payors, employers, pharmaceuticals, and medical device companies with an integrated care delivery platform. The real time data collection and intelligent analysis of data allow consumers and providers to focus on health outcomes and enable personalized care management pathways.

“ICURO is a good example of how IoT technology can improve communication between health care organizations and consumers to enable better health management and more effective treatments,” said Russ Fadel, president, ThingWorx. “The ThingWorx platform will enable ICURO to simplify and speed its development, reducing the time it takes ICURO to deploy secured healthcare solutions to market.”

Using ThingWorx, ICURO is able to offer consumer and provider-centric dashboards that deliver personalized data that is more meaningful and actionable to the consumer.

“ICURO’s mission is to improve health care access at much lower costs while providing the quality of care and convenience that consumers have come to expect in every other aspect of their digital lives,” said Bipin Thomas, president, ICURO.

“Using the ThingWorx platform we are able to securely and efficiently collect and interpret data from multiple medical devices such as blood pressure monitors, glucometers and cardiac measurement devices that can offer real time care interventions and personalized healthcare management.”

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In this time and age of digital technology, changes in almost every aspect of human life are inevitable. Technology in itself is constantly evolving everyday. Inventions, new and better products are introduced to the market every now and then. The Healthcare system is no exception.

Although, most medical equipments today still work as individual units, and medical practitioners and technicians still need to collaborate to generate a report on one specific aspect of a patient’s health. Often times, they would have to manually operate systems, devices and machines to generate the results. This whole tedious process does not only entail a lot of work, but requires a significant amount of time.

Fortunately, the healthcare industry has realized this inefficiency in the system and is slowly adapting to new technologies that can incredibly improve healthcare. Healthcare providers are now turning to Machine-to-machine technology, also known as E-Health, to provide more cost-efficient, reliable and enhanced services to their patients. As a result of the rapidly escalating cost of medical expenses, as well as Health Care reforms, particularly in the US and other countries adapting to a similar structure, medical providers and facilities decided to strengthen the role of connected health devices in delivering better healthcare services.

A report from Machina Research examined the impact of the possible adoption of technology that utilizes machine to machine connectivity to the healthcare sector, its viable outcomes and implications. Author of the new Sector Report Machine-to-Machine (M2M) Communications in Healthcare 2013-23 and Machina Research Principal Analyst, Andy Castonguay said that:

“In a country like the United States, with healthcare spending nearing 20% of national GDP, M2M technology may well provide the single most promising approach to expanding health care services in a cost effective manner.”

“While the cost dynamics of healthcare are a key factor driving innovation in the field, connected health devices and applications are also proving to be a key element in improving patient engagement and health.”

LeadingQuest CEO, Clovis Lacerda agrees with Mr. Castonguay in this view. According to Mr. Lacerda, M2M Technology is the best way to advance the healthcare system and eliminate problems such as long waiting periods. It would also be very cost-efficient for healthcare providers and can save them millions of dollars. Providing M2M Healthcare Solutions is one of the primary services that LeadingQuest and Parlacom Brazil offers to its clients. These are customized M2M E-Health solutions and applications that have been effectively used in care facilities. He further mentioned that Parlacom Brazil is enhancing their services, and is looking into investing more in this area to increase sales force.

From the same report from Machina Research, M2M connected devices for the healthcare sector is anticipated to hit 847 billion by 2023. In this report, North America will be the largest, reaching 386 million connections, followed by Europe and developed countries in Asia Pacific. And the Healthcare industry will generate a total revenue of $90.9 billion from M2M technology.

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Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. today launched a bold initiative aimed at directing the resources and innovation of the global technology industry toward empowering individuals to better manage their own health and wellness.

The Samsung Digital Health Initiative is based on open hardware and software platforms that will accelerate the development of advanced sensors, algorithms, and data collection and analysis.

At an event at San Francisco’s SFJAZZ Center today, Samsung’s Strategy and Innovation Center (SSIC) team demonstrated its open platform in a wearable wristband form factor, showing how devices based on this reference-design “blueprint” could be used to track measurements such as heart rate, respiratory rate and blood pressure. The company also demonstrated its open software architecture and how it could be used to collect data from a variety of sources, aggregate it and display it in a format allowing consumers to better understand what is taking place within their bodies.

The open platforms, combined with agreements like the one recently announced by Samsung and the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) to validate new technologies for personal health and wellness, are designed to help entrepreneurs bring innovative products to market more quickly.

“Samsung’s Digital Health Initiative provides an exciting opportunity for the brightest minds in the technology world to come together to develop the products that will, for the first time, put individuals in the driver’s seat in understanding their own health and wellness,” said Young Sohn, president and chief strategy officer, Device Solutions, Samsung Electronics.

“At a time when healthcare spending is at record levels and when the number of people over the age of 60 worldwide is expected to exceed more than 1.2 billion by 2025, digital health is an incredibly important area for innovation. We believe this initiative is an essential first step and we invite developers and partners across the globe to join us in creating the technologies of the future that will help make people’s lives healthier.”

Technology Highlights

• Open Hardware Platform: Samsung’s Simband is an open hardware reference design for wearable technology, capable of integrating the most advanced sensing technologies in the world. Simband is being designed in a modular way, allowing for innovation in areas like battery life, form factor and noninvasive sensor technology. Innovators are invited to use the reference platform to create and contribute their own advanced sensors, algorithms and other technologies. Simband is a reference design Samsung and third-parties will use to develop products. It will not be sold commercially. This approach is intended to lead to the creation of ecosystems for hardware and algorithms that will enable new technology to be easily incorporated into finished products.
• Open Software Architecture: The Samsung Architecture for Multimodal Interactions (SAMI) will be a cloud-based open software platform capable of bringing together diverse data from a variety of sources for analysis. It will allow devices and sensors to securely store data in the cloud regardless of the source’s format or structure. SAMI’s job is to make more information available, to break open information silos and give applications and services access to large amounts of data to provide better insights. Under Samsung’s approach, SAMI will allow data to be controlled by the individual generating it and not by third-parties, so that personal health data can be better protected.

The combination of Simband-designed sensor technologies and algorithms and SAMI-based software will take individual understanding of the body to a new level – for the first time giving voice to a deeper understanding of personal health and wellness. In addition, through the development of new sensing technologies and software, it’s possible that entirely new and previously unimagined insights into health and wellness could be generated.

Dr. Michael Blum, associate vice chancellor for informatics at UCSF, said:

“Our bodies have always had something to say but now, with advanced sensors, algorithms and software, we will finally be able to tune into what the body is telling us.”

“Validation of these technologies will improve the quality of data collected and help advance the ability to bring new products to market quickly. UCSF is pleased to play an important role in this effort to focus increased technology resources on digital health.”

To support its Digital Health Initiative, Samsung today also announced the Samsung Digital Health Challenge, a $50 million investment fund dedicated to innovative start-ups and technologies in the digital health area. The goal of the fund is to stimulate creative new approaches to digital health and Samsung’s open platforms.

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GeaCom’s Phrazer is a hand-held device that gathers patient data while interacting with them to register, triage and educate.

Telit Wireless Solutions, a global provider of high-quality machine-to-machine (M2M) solutions, products and services and GeaCom, a company that is dedicated to increasing access to quality healthcare through the development of innovative technology, today announced that GeaCom has selected Telit’s HE910 mini PCIe data card to enable high speed mobile data connectivity for Phrazer. Phrazer is an Edison Award winning CITE device that keeps patient centered care at the forefront as healthcare regulations continue to change.

Phrazer leverages M2M technology employed in the HE910 mini PCIe data card to provide the same level of care received in hospitals by patients in remote locations around the world. The ability to videoconference and control each device remotely is a key benefit, as is the use of culturally relevant on-screen caregivers to get the best, most accurate information form patients. This allows the same high level of care to be provided to patients regardless of languages, literacy levels, culture, gender or background.

The U.S.-made Phrazer is FDA and HIPAA compliant. Phrazer has an antimicrobial case and has been medically designed to be intrinsically safe. Patient data is instantly inserted into the correct fields of the clinician’s EMR system and real-time audio updates provide the caregiver with timely, critical patient information.

“We selected Telit’s HE910 mini PCIe data card because it provides high-speed performance on HSPA+ networks. Moreover variants having the same mini PCIe form factor will allow us to market Phrazer globally,” said Mat MK Johnson, Founder/CEO, GeaCom, Inc.

“The combination of form factor and high data rates are ideal for a compact product like Phrazer that handles multi-stream audio and videoconferencing traffic.”

“Phrazer is an innovative device for a market rich in opportunities,” said Mike Ueland, President of Telit Americas. “The HE910 PCIe integrated in the device not only delivers high speed data for Phrazer but also provides GeaCom the flexibility of expanding the reach of its product with the use of the fully compatible DE910 PCIe EV-DO data card requiring no change to their application.”

The 3.75G HE910 mini PCIe data card delivers 21 Mbps-down and 5.7 Mbps-up data rates on HSPA+ networks and is fully compatible with its EV-DO counterpart, the DE910 mini PCIe; thereby, providing connected device makers the maximum range of options for North American cellular operator support. The HE910 mini PCIe data card is particularly well suited for devices with high throughput requirements such as mobile computing, kiosks, PDAs, e-readers, tablet PCs, and consumer electronics in general. Several variants are offered, ranging from low cost tri-band models with reduced throughput, to fully-loaded configurations including receiver diversity and high sensitivity A-GPS functionality.

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As exclusive wireless communications technology sponsor, Sierra Wireless offers healthcare startups innovative solutions for integrating wireless connectivity into new devices and applications to improve patient care.

Sierra Wireless today announced a sponsorship program with MedStartr, the first crowdfunding platform created to fund healthcare projects, startups, and innovations that help people live longer, healthier lives. As an exclusive sponsor, Sierra Wireless is the preferred provider of wireless communications technology for MedStartr companies.

With healthcare costs continuously rising, technological innovation is a key to increasing efficiency and controlling costs while maintaining high quality patient care and effectively managing chronic diseases. As a sponsor of MedStartr, Sierra Wireless is leveraging its experience working with healthcare companies around the world to provide wireless connectivity for equipment that helps healthcare providers and their patients manage conditions like diabetes, sleep apnea, hypertension, and cognitive disabilities.

MedStartr’s unique, consultative approach for healthcare startup companies sets it apart from similar crowdfunding sites serving other industries. By collaborating with Sierra Wireless, MedStartr companies gain direct access to a full range of wireless connectivity solutions to accelerate their product development. Sierra Wireless solutions include a wide range of AirPrime embedded modules that provide 2G to 4G network access, a comprehensive set of development tools and software libraries to simplify their development process, and the AirVantage M2M Cloud, which provides management capabilities for devices in the field and enables the collection and integration of data from the devices with other back-end systems.

“We are very excited to have Sierra Wireless, a global leader in wireless communications, engaged with our innovative healthcare clients,” said Alex Fair, Founder and CEO of MedStartr.
“Many of our projects have developed great ideas that can benefit from a wireless communications link, and having access to a partner like Sierra Wireless will help them integrate and deploy quickly, speeding time to market and improving their chance of success. Healthcare is an extremely partner-driven industry and partnering with Sierra Wireless is a great move for many of our clients as they develop geo-specific and self-quantification solutions that can make us all healthier.”

“Healthcare is a growing market for wireless connectivity,” said Olivier Pauzet, Vice President of Market Strategy, Embedded Solutions for Sierra Wireless.

“We believe integrating wireless technology into healthcare devices improves the lives of patients managing chronic health conditions and streamlines costs for their healthcare providers without sacrificing quality care. We are pleased to work with MedStartr to help the next generation of healthcare innovators develop and integrate wireless connectivity into their solutions.”

Sierra Wireless is offering developers of healthcare device startup companies the opportunity to win a development package that will enable an end-to-end healthcare device management solution. This package includes a Sierra Wireless Development Kit, embedded software development tools, a six-month trial account for up to 5 devices to connect to AirVantage M2M cloud, enhanced with a pre-paid 20 MB SIM card from a Sierra Wireless M2M operator partner, valid for six months. In addition, MedStartr will offer a consulting session for winners on using the MedStartr platform for crowd funding.

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Hughes Telematics, which provides in-vehicle telematics systems, is using a machine-to-machine (M2M) platform based on Oracle’s Unified Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Billing and Revenue Management (BRM) solution to expand into new markets.

Hughes Telematics, which provides in-vehicle telematics systems, is using a machine-to-machine (M2M) platform based on Oracle’s Unified Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Billing and Revenue Management (BRM) solution to expand into new markets.

Hughes Telematics, which was acquired by Verizon last year, offers a portfolio of location-based services for consumers, manufacturers, fleets and dealers through two-way wireless connectivity.

This includes remote vehicle diagnostics, an integrated GPS tracking and monitoring system for wireless fleet vehicle management, and an after-market solution for vehicles that don’t have embedded telematics capabilities.

Its customers include Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen and US insurance firm State Farm – which offers usage-based insurance packages based on actual driving habits, and also provides stolen vehicle location assistance, driving reports and a mobile personal emergency response system (MPERS).

All of the information collected by the in-vehicle telematics systems is fed back to a central platform consisting of an Oracle Siebel CRM and Oracle E-Business Suite, which processes the data and distributes it to whoever needs it – be that the consumer, insurance company or emergency services.

The integrated solution also consists of Oracle Fusion Middleware components including Oracle Application Integration Architecture for Communications and Oracle SOA Suite, as well as Oracle Contact Center Anywhere and Oracle Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition.

The Oracle Billing and Revenue Management (BRM) solution is used to handle subscriptions and support variable billing models in countries around the world.

“Oracle was chosen because it was the most capable off-the-shelf software and globally supportable. So we paid for that global license to be able to deploy anywhere. That’s really important,” said George Ayres, VP of Global Sales at Hughes Telematics.

“Five years ago, car makers were thinking about the market. Not any more. They want one service provider that can go anywhere, because they make their cars that way now. Because it costs too much to try and localise.”

As the platform is built on open standards, application developers are able to incorporate new data sources, such as traffic information, weather news, and local information to build new customer services.

For example, if two people are in their cars on opposite side of town and decide to meet for lunch, an app could be developed that would allow the two cars to communicate their relative positions and find a restaurant that is half way between, while mapping the quickest to get there.

“Services like roadside assistance – you and I hope to never use them. So at some point we ask ourselves why are we paying for them? You get offered a free year of telematics and then how many people actually subscribe?” said Joshua Aroner, VP of global marketing at Oracle.

“But in this case you’re using the application for fun, and it’s stuff that you actually might be willing to pay for.”

Hughes Telematics is now using the same platform to expand into the e-health market. The company is putting its MPERS into wrist watches, belt clips and pendants, so that elderly people can alert the emergency services if they have an accident.

Users can instantly call emergency services by pressing the face of the watch or the centre of the belt clip, or if they are unconscious the accelerometer in the device will detect that something is wrong and automatically alert emergency services to the patient’s location using GPS.

“It gives mobility to the senior, to be able to live their life the way they want to live it, but as important, it lets other people know about that. So your son or daughter would get a text message saying Mum fell in the kitchen,” said Ayres.

Aroner said that the same platform can be used in any market where large-scale monitoring is required, including logistics, supply chain management, telemedicine, health monitoring, education and utilities.

“Service providers are able to really expand their revenue streams by saying, we have our platform, where else can we apply the technology from a business model standpoint?” he said.

A recent report by the GSMA, developed in collaboration with PwC, predicts that mobile operator data revenues will overtake voice revenues globally by 2018, driven by a surge in demand for connected devices and M2M communications.

In developed countries, connected cars could save one in nine lives through emergency calling services, mobile health could save $400 billion in healthcare costs, and smart metering could cut carbon emissions by 27 million tonnes, according to the report.

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GPS and wireless technologies enable instant assistance during medical emergencies.

u-blox, the Swiss positioning and wireless chip and module company, has been chosen for global positioning and embedded 2G/3G wireless technologies by MobileHelp, America’s leading provider of M-PERS (Mobile-Personal Emergency Response System) technology. Based on u-blox’ LISA 2G/3G wireless modem and MAX GPS modules, the comprehensive system includes compact, portable alert devices that function in and around the home, and while travelling.

“As the population ages, more and more people are choosing to remain independent for as long as possible”, said Robert Flippo, President of MobileHelp.

“With the help of u-blox’ reliable, low-power positioning and wireless technologies, our MobileHelp medical alert systems are giving a whole generation of people the freedom to live in their homes and travel independently knowing that simple and fast emergency assistance is just a push-button away.”

MobileHelp medical alert systems are giving a whole generation of people the freedom to live in their homes and travel independently

MobileHelp comes in three configurations, “CLASSIC” for home-monitoring over fixed line telephone, “SOLO” for travelling and at homes without a fixed line telephone connection, and “DUO”, for travelling and at homes that have a fixed line telephone connection.

MobileHelp’s innovative alert products have been developed together with Singapore-based Daviscomms, a leading design and manufacturing partner providing advanced engineering services to customers in the consumer and industrial markets worldwide.

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Cooking Hacks by Libelium Helps Makers Develop Products to Monitor Medical Data.

Cooking Hacks, the open hardware division of Libelium, a wireless sensor networks platform provider for Smart Cities solutions, has released a new e-Health sensor platform to give the maker Community tools that use Arduino and Raspberry Pi open source hardware platforms to monitor patients’ conditions.

The new e-Health sensor platform adds sensing capability for nine different biometric parameters, such as pulse, blood pressure, oxygen in blood (SPO2), electrocardiogram (EKG), airflow, glucometer, galvanic skin response (GSR), patient position and body temperature, to give the Arduino and Raspberry Pi Community a way to develop new e-Health applications and products.

The e-Health Sensor Platform was designed by Cooking Hacks to help researchers and developers measure biometric sensor data for experimentation, fun and test purposes.

“We aim to give the Arduino and Raspberry Pi community a platform to develop quick proof-of-concept projects as the basis of a new era of open source medical products,” said David Gascón, CTO of Libelium.

“Cooking Hacks provides a cheap, open alternative compared to the proprietary and price-prohibitive medical market solutions available, to inspire makers to develop new applications that help people thrive.”

Such information can be used to monitor a patient’s state or to collect sensitive data to be analyzed for medical diagnosis. Using different wireless protocols—such as Wi-Fi, 3G and Bluetooth—the information can be sent to a laptop computer, a smartphone or directly to the Cloud for subsequent analysis. Cooking Hacks has designed iPhone and Android applications to view the real-time information gathered with the platform. In addition, the e-Health platform comes with an integrated video and photo camera for image diagnosis.

Thanks to the Raspberry Pi to Arduino Connection bridge and the arduPi library, especially designed to make any hardware designed for Arduino compatible with Raspberry Pi, the e-Heath Biometric Sensor shield is compatible with both platforms.

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Telcare, the company behind the world’s first wireless-enabled Blood Glucose Meter, has partnered with global connected service enabler Telenor Connexion for its international marketing initiative.

Telcare seeks to aggressively accelerate market share to realize their vision of becoming the global leader in wireless mHealth solutions for people with diabetes and other chronic illnesses.
“By partnering with Telenor Connexion we can significantly accelerate our entry into the global market. When evaluating M2M service providers, Telenor Connexion stood out due to its global coverage footprint, especially in key markets where people are increasingly affected by diabetes, as well as Telenor’s network redundancy, and its reliable and secure services”, says Jonathan Javitt, MD, MPH, CEO & Vice Chairman at Telcare.

Per Simonsen, CEO at Telenor Connexion says:

“mHealth is much more than putting a computer between the doctor and the patient. It’s about connecting patients in real-time with their caregiver and giving them immediate and accurate data on which to take clinical action. Telenor Connexion has more than 12 years’ experience of connecting business and life critical applications, and the flexibility and quality of our services allow our clients to maximize patient acceptance, satisfaction and compliance.”

Telenor Connexion provides managed connectivity and services for Telcare’s comprehensive diabetes solution. The Telcare wireless glucose meter with two-way messaging transmits to an FDA-cleared back-end clinical server and a suite of smartphone apps in order to provide a complete ecosystem of care. The server connects directly to electronic medical record systems, while the phone apps are used by parents of children with diabetes and those caring for elderly people with diabetes. The solution is FDA- and HIPAA- compliant.

The Telcare platform is currently being implemented by health insurers and employers who currently care for more than 1 million people with diabetes.

Worldwide, there are more that 100 million addressable patients with diabetes, 28 million of whom are in the U.S. Current global sales for diabetes testing solutions exceed $12 billion. All U.S. health insurers, both public and private, and all EU, Canadian, and GCC health insurers reimburse for diabetes testing.

Telenor Connexion will be showcasing Telcare’s innovative diabetes solution at the mHealth Summit in Washington D.C. on December 3-5. Please visit the GSMA stand 311.

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At the 2012 mHealth Summit in Washington, D.C., Toronto-based remote health provider Ideal Life announced that it has chosen Orange Business Services to expand its remote monitoring solutions for wellness and chronic conditions to an international audience. Orange will provide seamless machine to machine (M2M) wireless connectivity for Ideal Life in Europe and Latin America, promoting comprehensive remote care to the home and preventing non-critical re-admissions of patients to hospitals.

“As an established and comprehensive provider of global M2M solutions, Orange Business Services provides us with the perfect platform to deliver our remote health monitoring services to a greater number of caregivers and insurance providers from around the world,” said Harvey Goldberg, CEO of Ideal Life.

“For healthcare enterprises in these regions, our expanded services will lead to better regulatory compliance, improve their migration to electronic medical records (EMR) and reduce costs. For patients, we can offer a better quality of life with comprehensive and reliable care to more homes, thereby reducing hospital stays and providing around the clock, non-obtrusive preventive care.”

Ideal Life will be offering new medical hubs containing Orange SIM cards. These hubs will reside in the home, collecting data from a variety of health-related devices, from blood pressure monitors to glucose, oxygen saturation and heart rate meters. Once collected, this information is transmitted in real time over the Orange network to physicians who can access it using a variety of devices such as tablets, smartphones and traditional PCs. The application can also format the data into a standardized EMR, improving compliance with recent legislation requiring such records.

Thierry Zylberberg, executive vice president, Orange Healthcare, a division dedicated to developing e-health solutions, said:

“Technology is the gateway for transforming healthcare and improving quality of life.”

“Combining our expertise in e-health with our global M2M solutions, Orange is well placed to deliver advanced m-Health services to our customers like Ideal Life, and in turn to their patients, health professionals, caregivers and insurance carriers, with the goal in part to offer patients and their families peace of mind.”

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Qualcomm Life’s 2net Platform and Hub are designed to enable medical device manufacturers and service providers to wirelessly connect their medical devices via a secure, cloud-based solution so that biometric information is easily accessible by device users, their healthcare providers and caregivers.

The 2net Platform and Hub are each individually certified as Class I Medical Devices in Europe, and FDA listed as a Medical Device Data System (MDDS) in the U.S. The announcement took place at the International Telecare & Telehealth Conference (TSA) being held at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole Hotel from November 12–14.

“We have a number of customers in Europe and the U.S. who want to extend their mobile health solutions in multiple regions around the world, and they need to provide a reliable service that is not impacted by geographic boundaries”, said Rick Valencia, vice president and general manager of Qualcomm Life.

“Launching our wirelessly enabled healthcare ecosystem into Europe is another step toward the realization of our vision –– a world with access to healthcare anytime and anywhere.”

Two of Qualcomm Life’s first European customers are Telbios and Cystelcom. Telbios is a leading service provider of remote health monitoring solutions for chronic care and disease management in Italy. Telbios is working with Qualcomm Life as its technology solution provider to reduce costs and remove technological complexities. Qualcomm Life’s wireless solution allows Telbios to lower the economic and operational barriers required to expand and scale its innovative chronic care services faster. By connecting to the 2net Platform, Telbios will be able to combine data from several devices into one data stream to allow for improved access and sharing of patient data, improving care coordination for general practitioners.

Mobile health holds significant potential in Europe to defray healthcare costs and increase the quality and quantity of care, helping to address anticipated shortages of qualified healthcare professionals. Globally, Europe has the highest burden of chronic disease, and the continued increase in prevalence is considered an epidemic by the World Health Organization (WHO), which estimates chronic diseases will claim the lives of 52 million people in the European region by 2030.

“There is a clear imperative for health services providers and manufacturers to invest in remote monitoring solutions to improve patient outcomes and align with preventive care initiatives. Europe’s governing bodies have demonstrated a commitment to robust pilots, such as the 3 Million Lives project sponsored by the Department of Health in the U.K.,” said Laurent Vandebrouck, managing director of Qualcomm Life Europe.

“Qualcomm Life has been helping its customers pave the way for wireless health in the U.S., and this is an exciting time to extend our services and offering in Europe.”

The 2net Platform is designed as a secure end–to–end, technology–agnostic, cloud–based service offering that interconnects health devices so that information is easily accessible by device users and their healthcare providers and caregivers. The 2net Hub is one of four gateways onto the platform, and is a plug–and–play Class I Medical Device under the EU directive 93/42/EEC (MDD) that collects data from a patient’s medical device and sends the information to be stored in the 2net Platform over a mobile connection, following encryption. A connection to the 2net Platform can also be obtained through three additional gateways including mobile phones, other mobile–enabled devices, and application program interfaces that connect to the customer service platform. Connectivity is provided through a pan–European SIM with no roaming fees allowing deployment of customer solutions anytime, in any place and in any European country. More than 100 medical device manufacturers, application developers, healthcare services companies and payors are in various stages of integration with the 2net Ecosystem.

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e-health project leader Docapost BPO will equip caregivers with NFC-enabled smartphones to facilitate home care visits.

INSIDE Secure (NYSE Euronext: INSD.PA) announces today that the company has been selected by a French public authority consortium led by Docapost BPO, a digital transactions company owned by La Poste, France’s postal service, to provide NFC (Near Field Communication) technology and security expertise for an e-health project.

The e-health project, CoNFianCe, aims to improve the management of home care and services provided to the dependent living at home, in particular the elderly. There are 1.16 million dependent elderly in France, of which 61 per cent live at home. The number of dependent elderly living at home is expected to double by 2050, according to French government figures.

Caregivers around France will be equipped with smartphones developed with INSIDE Secure’s NFC technology. They will use these NFC-enabled smartphones to facilitate the real time management of home care assistance. This includes making very quick updates of administrative, financial and other management records related to each home visit, on-site at the time of the visit. The information will be digitally stored and transmitted to the central office. This saves time as well as reducing the risk of administrative errors. Those under home care will also be equipped with an NFC ID card.

“INSIDE Secure is pleased to have been selected by Docapost to provide security expertise and develop NFC applications that help those in need of home care assistance,” said Bertrand Moussel, Executive Vice President Strategic Business Development, Digital Security at INSIDE Secure.

“This e-health project reinforces INSIDE Secure’s leadership role in NFC, a cutting-edge technology showing great promise in a vast number of very important applications worldwide.”

The e-health project is a joint partnership between Docapost and social welfare association Abrapa, located in Bas-Rhin (north east France). It is financed by the French Ministry of Industry.

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M2M Leader’s Expertise Enables Efficient, Real-time Connectivity to Medical Device Telemetry

Numerex Corp, a leading single source provider of secure machine-to-machine (M2M) products and services, announced today the company has developed a complete Device-Network-Application (DNA) solution for remote cellular monitoring of MicroMed Cardiovascular Inc.’s HeartAssist5® System.

Numerex led the innovation and development of the new wireless monitoring connectivity and software application for the HeartAssist5® System, the latter consisting of two devices developed by MicroMed: the HeartAssist5® Left Ventricular Assist Device (LVAD) and the MicroMed Controller. The MicroMed HeartAssist5® LVAD was originally developed by the world famous heart surgeon Dr. Michael DeBakey in partnership with NASA. It is the only LVAD with a precise, direct flow measurement system and cellular-based remote monitoring.

“The partnership with Numerex has been spectacular.  They provided the expertise we need along with their Numerex DNA® solution to move our idea quickly and reliably to market,” said Bryan Lynch, Vice President of product development at MicroMed.

Prior to Numerex implementing the new M2M technology, clinicians accessed device data after the body-worn external controller unit was physically plugged into the MicroMed Heart Attendant and transmitted via a local internet connection. This limited mobility and continuous reporting could not occur.

The MicroMed Cardiovascular team sought a solution to improve real-time visibility to the devices and engaged Numerex to integrate a cellular radio into the MicroMed Controller, provide cellular network services, and deliver a web-based application to consolidate and present the reported data for clinicians to review.

“This is a good example of the value-added services Numerex brings to their enterprise customers to deliver new solutions,” said Mike Marett, Chief Revenue Officer of Numerex.

“MicroMed brought their deep domain expertise and a strong core product to us. After which we applied our M2M expertise and leveraged our platforms to enable a rapid product evolution and ultimately enable the many new benefits associated with continuous connectivity and monitoring.”

The MicroMed Cardiovascular M2M application was built using the secure, reliable Numerex FAST® platform.  As part of the Numerex DNA® solution, the firmware was optimized to reduce the size of the data packet transmissions, ultimately optimizing from over 50MB to less than 4MB per month and resulting in significant efficiencies and cost savings. Remote monitoring of the device is now continuous and consistent, allowing for relevant device statistics to be reported around the clock. More importantly, any anomalies in the device are reported in real-time.

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To some observers, today’s mobile sector resembles a form of controlled chaos where even the most conservative incumbents of the past are embracing the need for a more open, competitive environment. The reason for this lies in the volatility that continues to erupt around the pillars of disruption that define the open mobile era: rapid development of mobile Web technology, insatiable consumer demand for mobile Web and data services, and an evolving policy debate that may finally introduce a more equitable market.

As with all creative destruction, this is good news for some and doomsday for others. Network carriers in particular are scrambling to compete with the new wave of mobile upstarts that have turned Silicon Valley into Smartphone Valley in less than 3 years. Insight from Deloitte’s new Open Mobile survey point to the formidable challenges incumbents face in trying to capture growth in an era where the old rules simply don’t apply.

The incumbents’ travails seem centered on how to sustain market leadership without relying on traditional revenue streams. Voice revenues have declined, but data revenues have soared and now account for a significant portion of the total revenue for the wireless industry. This trend is set to accelerate over the short term and provide new revenue opportunities for anyone agile enough to act. The big question is where will these opportunities reside? According to our research, vertical industries adjacent to mobile  – especially healthcare and life sciences  – are poised to experience the most profound mobile business model growth.

Mobile health, or mHealth as it’s commonly known, is emerging as a significant growth opportunity for companies looking to capitalize on machine-to-machine (M2M) technology in wireless healthcare. By 2016, the worldwide market for machine-to-machine connections is predicted to grow at a compounded annual growth rate of 27 percent, and global connections are forecast to reach 365 million. Much of this growth will come from services designed around the “Internet of things,” but other reasons apply. In particular, the declining cost of mobile devices and infrastructure coupled with an increased deployment of networks are providing the opportunity for mobile incumbents to apply existing infrastructure in new markets.

Healthcare seems like the obvious choice in this regard. Analyst forecasts estimate the potential value of the mHealth market will be $4.6 billion by 2014. The driving forces behind this expected uptick are numerous. Mounting pressure to cut burgeoning costs in the U.S. healthcare system is a government mandated objective; in particular, preventable readmissions cost an estimated $12–17 billion per year. On top of this lies the problem of an aging population, exacerbated by the size of the baby boomer demographic. Americans aged 60 or older represented 18 percent of the U.S. population in 2009; , this segment is expected to grow to 27 percent by 2050.

Wireless healthcare solutions offer a way to deal with these pressing issues and more. Improving disease management, despite an increasing incidence of chronic diseases, is particularly attractive, considering 7 out of 10 deaths among Americans each year are from chronic diseases. Heart disease, cancer and stroke combined account for more than 50 percent of all deaths each year. In 2005 alone, 133 million Americans — almost 1 out of every 2 adults — had at least one chronic illness. These sobering statistics have big implications. Costs associated with chronic disease management accounts for more than four-fifths of the total healthcare expenditure, which totaled $2 trillion annually in 2009, and they are expected to increase on average 6.1 percent per year over the projection period 2009–2019. Ouch. Adding more fuel to the fire is a chronic shortfall of physicians. The Association of American Medical Colleges estimates a shortage of 90,000 doctors nationwide by 2021. The impact of this dwindling resource pool will be amplified and felt even more in specialist areas such as geriatrics. The rising baby boomer population can then expect to face the considerable challenge of getting quality healthcare on a timely and consistent basis.

Despite these concerns, all may not be lost in fighting the double whammy of rising demand and decreasing supply. Advances in wireless remote patient monitoring (RPM) are expected to have a big impact across targeted disease areas where chronic conditions are a leading cause of the readmissions problem. RPM can equip healthcare providers with timely information about patients’ health, while improving speed and accuracy of diagnosis. Wearable body sensors and remote monitoring can keep chronic patients out of hospitals and improve their quality of life while significantly reducing admission expenses. If, as expected, more trials are successful and adoption of such RPM technology becomes suitably widespread, savings are expected to reach $197 billion over the next 25 years.

With these challenges and opportunities firmly front and center of the prospective mHealth industry, many mobile incumbents are struggling to make a significant play. Organizational capabilities, or lack of, are often the root cause of the uncertainty. Deloitte’s findings suggest that platform development, ecosystem building and alliance management are the core capabilities required for boosting competitiveness in the Open Mobile era. This resonates strongly in the mHealth industry where many believe future growth rests on the proliferation of open platforms across multiple facets of the value chain. Winners in this market will have to learn to astutely mobilize new ecosystems, build trust with new partners in the innovation process, and develop differentiated mobile technology platforms to generate value.

For those quick off the mark, this is already happening. Savvy incumbents and new entrants alike are already collaborating. New networks are forming, allowing disparate resources to combine in key knowledge areas, spurring the growth of wireless technology across the sector. A good example of this is the Open mHealth Consortium, which has established a flourishing ecosystem of multiple players across the mobile, software, and healthcare industries to implement a roadmap for mHealth technology development. Other more familiar players such as Qualcomm are orchestrating platform and ecosystem strategies in the most promising growth areas. For mobile incumbents, unlocking value in this nascent market will require sustained collaboration across traditional boundaries. This will be critical to integrate mobile solutions across monitoring, wellness, and reminder services, which together represent the core of the mHealth opportunity.

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At the GSMA Mobile World Congress 2012, taking place from February 27 – March 1 in Barcelona, Qualcomm Life will showcase its 2net Platform and Hub at Booth 8B53 Hall 8 of the Fira de Barcelona.

“This important collaboration with Orange Business Services and the use of their connectivity services represents a significant milestone in our goal of obtaining certification for our 2net Platform and launching Qualcomm Life in Europe,” said Rick Valencia, vice president and general manager of Qualcomm Life.

“Our efforts with Orange Business Services enables our support of 2net customers in their European businesses and the acceleration of wireless health services in Europe to help manage or prevent the chronic health conditions millions of people are suffering from in the region.”

“Qualcomm Life’s decision to choose Orange is a great recognition of our unmatched M2M quality of service and global footprint of 220 countries and territories,” said Anne-Marie Thiollet, Vice President of the Enterprise Line of Business, Orange Business Services.

“With over 200 experts dedicated to M2M and supporting 2.5 million active M2M connections, and a targeted team in North America, Orange Business Services is committed to using mobile technology to deliver innovative solutions and services on a global scale, particularly in the health care domain. We bring together key expertise backed by a strong strategy in machine-to-machine, and we are happy to offer it to Qualcomm Life today.”

“eHealth is a strategic growth area for Orange,” said Thierry Zylberberg, Executive Vice President, Orange Healthcare.

“We are very happy to work with Qualcomm Life to contribute to another eHealth solution that is a great example of how mobile technology enables access to affordable, improved health care services for a wide population.”

In Europe, chronic disease accounts for the majority of disease incidence and deaths. The World Health Organization’s project “The Global Burden of Disease” estimates that, in 2002, chronic or non-communicable conditions accounted for 87 percent of deaths in high-income countries, while only 7 percent of deaths were attributed to communicable conditions and nutritional deficiencies and 6 percent to injuries. The burden of chronic conditions and diseases in Europe is growing as the population ages. The proportion of those in European countries aged 65 years and older is projected to grow from 15 percent in 2000 to 23.5 percent by 2030. The proportion of those age 80 years and over is expected to more than double from 3 percent in 2000 to 6.4 percent in 2030.

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Qualcomm Incorporated announced today the formation of a wholly owned subsidiary, Qualcomm Life Inc., which will operate the business formerly known as Qualcomm Wireless Health, as well as the establishment of a $100 million Qualcomm Life Fund, an investment allocation established by Qualcomm Incorporated and to be managed by Qualcomm Ventures, Qualcomm’s investment group.

Qualcomm Life’s first offerings, the 2net Platform and Hub for use in connection with wireless medical devices, are now available in the U.S. and are designed  to interconnect wireless medical devices via cloud-based solutions so that biometric information is easily accessible by device users, their health care providers and caregivers. The platform and hub are intended to transfer, store, convert and display medical device data. The Company also announced that more than 40 customers and collaborators are either integrating with or considering the 2net ecosystem, creating an interoperable and value-enhancing ecosystem of medical devices, mobile medical applications and health services companies.

Rick Valencia, vice president and general manager of Qualcomm Life says:

“Qualcomm Life was founded, in part, to assist medical device manufacturers who approached Qualcomm for help when their own wireless connectivity attempts became untenable due to technology selection errors, unscalable deployment models and prohibitively high operational support costs. Our services, including integration on the 2net Platform, remove the burden for medical device manufacturers of a large technical development effort, providing integration with mobile carriers and solving the operational complexities of supporting wireless medical device data in the field.”

“We believe the 2net Platform and Hub’s promotion of medical device connectivity will enable a sea change in health care, where we observe stressed medical systems burdened by a mounting prevalence of chronic disease,” stated Don Jones, vice president of global strategy and market development for Qualcomm Life.

“Already, several members of the 2net ecosystem are able to provide remote monitoring functionality for chronic disease management, enhancing the quality of care for their patients.”

The 2net Platform makes it easy for companies to connect wirelessly to their medical devices so that data can be made available across the continuum of care. Data is obtained from a patient’s medical device through several gateways, such as the 2net Hub, a mobile phone, another cellular-enabled device or application programming interfaces that connect to the customer service platform. Once the data is acquired from the medical device, it is encrypted and then stored in the 2net Platform over a cellular connection. After the 2net Platform has received the transmission, patient medical device data is transferred to the manufacturers’ interface of choice for the end-user. The 2net Platform is designed to meet HIPAA security requirements and is ISO 13485 certified, meaning it aligns with the quality requirements of U.S. and international regulatory agencies in the health care industry.

The 2net Platform and Hub are individually listed with the FDA as Medical Device Data Systems (MDDS). The 2net Hub plugs into a standard electric outlet and seamlessly connects to integrated partner medical devices via shortwave radio, uploading biometric data over the cellular network to the 2net Platform’s data center, where it can be transferred to the manufacturer-chosen interface, for access by the user. The 2net Hub provides a plug-and-play connectivity solution for medical device manufacturers looking for quick and simple solutions to integrate their devices with the health network and it enables health care services companies to kit together disease management solutions based on multiple medical devices that can communicate with one another and with a single user interface for patients, their providers and caregivers.

“Qualcomm Life’s 2net Platform will expand our ability to connect patients with caregivers, family and clinicians by providing a direct wireless connection within every home,” stated Richard Strobridge, chief executive officer of Entra Health Systems.

“Integration with the 2net ecosystem will open up new markets for MyGlucoHealth Wireless blood glucose meter and diabetes management system within senior care, home health care and assisted living where patients have limited access to wireless technology.”

More than 40 medical device manufacturers, application developers, health care services companies and payors are either integrating with or considering the 2net ecosystem. Qualcomm Life will showcase a broad array of the possibilities for 2net-enabled solutions at the mHealth 2011 conference in Washington D.C., including those being developed by: A&D Medical, Advanced Warning Systems Inc., AirStrip Technologies Inc., Asthmapolis, AT&T, BiancaMed, BodyMedia, Emergency Medical Services Corporation^®, Entra Health Systems, Ingram Micro Inc., MidMark Corporation, Hello Health Inc., Nonin Medical Inc., Numera, ResMed, U.S. Preventive Medicine^® and Venture Corporation Limited.

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Glenn Lurie, president of emerging devices, resales and partnerships at AT&T, on Wednesday outlined a startup within the wireless giant designed to connect multiple ordinary devices. The unit, which only has $1 million in revenue a quarter, is designed to capitalize on a future where everything is “smart.” Clothing, containers, cars and everything in between will be interconnected.

In a nutshell, Lurie was talking about machine-to-machine connections and the Internet of things. In this new world order of connectivity, wireless carriers like AT&T hope to be the glue.

“What we are really finding now is consumers, small and large business alike, are starting to expect their devices to be smarter. And your device gets smart by being connected,” said Lurie.

“Even though my group has been involved in doing this for the last three years, we are starting to see more and more momentum in other parts and other verticals.”

Lurie said one hot selling connection for AT&T has been the Vitality GlowCap (right), which is a prescription container lid that reminds patients when to take their medicine. AT&T facilitates the connection between the GlowCap and the pharmacy and enables reminders via phone.

Another healthcare related device is the Zephyr BioHarness, which tracks what’s happening in the human body.

Lurie added:

“We also are seeing some new categories. One being in the healthcare side we launched a thing called the Vitality Glow Cap. We are seeing nice take with that. I talked about connected clothing, whether for adults or babies, and some other things that we are seeing there. Whether that is automotive, whether that is [m-health], [m-wellness], whether that is gaming, etc., this space is still growing and growing very quickly.”

Lurie’s lab certifies more than 1,000 devices ranging from smartphones to machine-to-machine connections. He added that vending machines, container tracking systems and smart grid devices are emerging markets.

In the short term, AT&T’s biggest connective device market will be the automobile. Of 260 million cars in the U.S., only 5 percent have a wireless module built in. That level of connectivity will eventually grow to 100 percent.

“You talk about diagnostics, you talk about real-time traffic, you talk about all these aspects that really take having that car being connected, having it be smart, which means every car is going to have to have that,” said Lurie.

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Today Cisco announced the general availability of the newest version of Cisco HealthPresence technology, an advanced care-at-a-distance platform that connects patients and clinicians via high-definition video, audio, medical devices and collaboration tools.

The updated solution provides new deployment options with enhanced security and efficiency capabilities to deliver patient care from a wider range of locations. Cisco HealthPresence also supports integrated workflow features to improve information exchange by increasing access to data such as electronic medical records.

Saint Thomas Health, a family of hospitals based in Tennessee, is using Cisco HealthPresence to provide healthcare access to patients in areas where medical resources are scarce, while also helping to improve care delivery and outcomes. MissionPoint Health Partners, founded by Saint Thomas Health, is a new platform for healthcare delivery that brings doctors, nurses, hospitals and other care providers together to share the responsibility for keeping patients healthy. Cisco HealthPresence is key to helping MissionPoint Health Partners meet Accountable Care Organization standards set forth by the Department of Health and Human Services earlier this year.

Cisco HealthPresence also helps medical professionals provide care to patients in hard-to-reach areas. Doctors at Telerad RxDx, a multi-specialty hospital in Bangalore, India, have been using Cisco HealthPresence to provide medical care to patients living in Raichur, located in North Karnataka in India. Based on successful initial results, Telerad RxDx plans to increase deployment of Cisco’s telehealth services to continue to improve healthcare delivery in remote locations.

Vishal Gupta, VP/general manager, Cisco Global Healthcare Solutions:

“Faced with increased patient loads, rising cost and lack of medical professionals, health systems globally are challenged to meet demands for quality care for their specific market needs. Cisco HealthPresence is making it possible for patients to connect with the physician or specialist most suited for their needs, whether it’s in a medical kiosk in a remote village or a mobile cart in an urban hospital. By utilizing our strengths in video, collaboration and the network as a platform, HealthPresence underscores Cisco’s commitment to the transformation of healthcare delivery and quality care-at-a-distance.”

Cisco HealthPresence works with medical diagnostic equipment, such as stethoscopes and otoscopes, to capture patient information, while also allowing patients to interactively discuss their conditions with their physicians remotely using Cisco HealthPresence’s high-definition video and rich audio. In addition to connecting care teams and patients in rural communities, Cisco HealthPresence is also being utilized in urban environments to help doctors see more patients within a given session and facilitate training and information exchange between healthcare providers around the world.

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