In the medical device industry, it is said that one should always treat the patient and not the device.  According to Bill Saltzstein of CodeBlue Communications, a consultant to the medical device industry, Bluetooth®  wireless technology is helping doctors do just that.  The technology allows physicians to focus on the patients' needs by bringing the devices to them, and eliminating the intimidation and fear caused by having too many cables and wires connected to a patient. Many medical device companies are utilizing the stabile, short-range wireless connection of Bluetooth wireless technology to improve the patient experience, give doctors immediate, remote access to patient information, and reduce expense and cable clutter for hospitals.  You’ll hear from several of those companies below.  The March newsletter includes:

• Q&A from medical device companies Ortivus, Polymap, RTX and ZOLL Medical Corporation
• Update from the SIG
• Recently qualified Bluetooth enabled products
• News on Bluetooth wireless technology

Medical Device Industry Q&A                           

The Bluetooth SIG asks the following medical device companies: How does Bluetooth wireless technology enhance your product for patients and doctors?

In the MobiMed system made by Ortivus, Bluetooth wireless technology is used to transfer patient measurement data from a small wearable device to a patient monitor. The patient gains increased comfort and mobility.  The personnel such as doctors, nurses and ambulance crews have real time access to the patient data, allowing them to make decisions  and reducing the time for the patient receiving treatment. In traditional equipment, the patient is connected to a patient monitor by a number of cables like oxygen saturation, electrocardiogram and blood pressure inducers. Bluetooth wireless technology frees the patient from the monitor.

Polymap Wireless

The Polytel™ System uses Bluetooth technology to enable a set of medical devices to communicate wirelessly over ordinary telephone lines to the Internet, without the presence of a computer. The system makes data transmission from the home effortless for the patient because it is wireless and automatic.  Furthermore, healthcare practioners can be confident in the immediacy and accuracy of the data that is received. They can conveniently monitor their patients daily, hourly or by the minute, increasing the potential for early detection. 

RTX Healthcare

RTX Healthcare is currently launching a Wireless Telehealth Gateway, utilizing Bluetooth wireless technology, in order to collect patient information like blood pressure, weight, blood glucose, etc. and transmit this information through the Internet to a Patient Information Database. Bluetooth wireless technology gives the product a number of unique advantages, compared to other available wireless technologies:

• Bluetooth wireless technology is an industry standard making it easier to work with partners to ensure interoperability between medical devices from different manufacturers.
• Bluetooth wireless technology is designed for low cost and low power applications.
• The Bluetooth software stack includes authentication and encryption of the data transferred, which solves the data privacy issue, mandatory in most European countries and in the USA through HIPAA.
• The Bluetooth radio technology makes it a robust solution with regard to interference from other emitters.
• The ISM band, wherein Bluetooth wireless technology is operating, is a near globally accepted license-free band, which makes it easy and inexpensive to market the product in many countries.

ZOLL Medical Corporation

ZOLL has made Bluetooth wireless technology an option for its M Series^TM, the most advanced cardiac defibrillator and monitor on the market. The Bluetooth wireless option allows Emergency Medical Services (EMS) personnel to digitally transmit 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) - the heart rhythm data - and vital trend data automatically. This data is used to help diagnose and treat heart attack victims.

The Bluetooth wireless option provides faster transmission rates and increases reliability, when compared to analog communication technologies, by reducing the time needed to send patient information from the field. The 12-lead ECG and vital trend data are delivered in a matter of seconds, not minutes. The result is improved patient care and lower airtime charges as compared to traditional transmission methods. The Bluetooth wireless option works with a variety of existing Bluetooth enabled Pocket PCs and cell phones. This variety allows customers to select the most appropriate device for their service today, while allowing adaptation to future changes in cellular technology.

email: analyst.relations@bluetooth.com
web: http://www.bluetooth.org

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