Article preview from Medtech Insight - March, 2010
To succeed in today's market, medical devices not only have to incorporate the latest technology, they also must have the ability to treat patients in the safest and most affordable fashion. A number of efforts in this area are underway, including the movement for "connected health," which requires medical devices to be able to communicate with other devices or systems in the expanding and remote health care arena. In a recent interview, Medtech Insight spoke about the changing environment with Pamela McNamara, president of US operations at Cambridge Consultants Inc. She notes that a medical device is only a single component in a much larger system of operation, and manufacturers need to develop and improve products with that in mind.
The Future of Connected Health
Article preview from Medtech Insight - March, 2010
In today's market, it is not enough for a medical device manufacturer merely to have a proven product to treat a medical condition. Physicians, hospitals, payors, and even patients have very high expectations and are very demanding. To be successful, a product not only has to incorporate the latest technology, but also must have the ability to treat patients in the safest and most affordable fashion. A number of efforts in this area are underway, including the movement for "connected health," which requires medical devices to be able to communicate with other devices or systems in the expanding and remote health care arena.
In a recent interview, Medtech Insight spoke about the changing environment with Pamela McNamara, president of US operations at Cambridge Consultants Inc. She notes that meeting all the current expectations on costs, safety, and effectiveness involves data gathering, transfer among devices and systems, and more effective ways to use that data. A medical device is only a single component in a much larger system of operation, she says, and manufacturers need to develop and improve products with that in mind.
Q: Medtech Insight: How do you describe connected health?
McNamara: It's a better way of connecting existing, diverse device technologies with one another to make it easier to use by the patient and the range of caregivers. It's the ability to improve the quality of health outcomes, improve compliance to medication protocols, and the adherence to the various therapies. To make it work you have to have simple, reliable, cost-effective ways to connect these different devices and systems, and the process includes the exchange of data, how the communication links are made, the security of the shared information, and the reliability of the exchange.
Q: What type of medical devices are you talking about—something like a blood pressure device?
That's a good example. In fact, we worked with the company A&D Medical on a project like this, and they manufacture blood pressure cuffs, scales, and other patient-monitoring devices. We were able to help them develop a "smart chip" built into their current generation of devices that conveys a blood pressure reading that is instantly sent to a receiving device of some kind—whether it's a laptop, a smart phone, or whatever. That way, the readings can be tracked, put into a database or data management system instantly, and then shared in a controlled and directed fashion with the different parties—the patient, their caregiver, a family member involved in the care of that patient.
Q: What's involved in a project like that? Did A&D have to purchase the chips from a third party?
Since we're also an engineering company we worked with them to design a Bluetooth-enabled smart-chip solution. Also, in doing this, it was very important for A&D to adhere to the evolving standards in this domain. There's a group called the Continua Health Alliance, which has members from more than 200 companies, such as Intel and Kaiser Permanente, which, along with a number of other leading technology companies, were instrumental in founding the alliance.
- Robert Neil
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