Tags: clinical trials | CMAS | Diabetes | Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong | FDA | MediSens | UCLA Wireless Health Institute | wireless health regulation |
The FDA recently approved MediSens Wireless’ wireless body monitoring system, which assesses muscle and neuromotor functions in the upper extremities, for its first phase of clinical trials. MediSens’ Clinical Movement Assessment System (CMAS) could be used by health care professionals working in physical medicine and rehabilitation, neurology, orthopedics and physical and occupational therapy.
One of MediSens’ technology’s key applications is to use the real-time wireless monitoring technology to help diabetic patients with peripheral neuropathy, which causes a loss of sensation in the foot, and other patients with health issues that affect their balance.
According to CMAS co-investor Reggie Edgerton, Ph.D., the technology could also potentially be used to help diagnose diseases states, including Parkinson’s disease. Keep reading>>
Tags: Apple | electronic health records | electronic medical records | EMR | Epic Systems | mobile EHR |
After three months of rumors, details surrounding Epic Systems’ partnership with Apple for a mobile phone-based electronic health record (EHR) application have come to light: Just a few days ago, Epic System’s iPhone application, called Haiku, became available on Apple’s AppStore.
“Haiku provides authorized clinical users of Epic’s Electronic Health Record with secure access to clinic schedules, hospital patient lists, health summaries, test results and notes. Haiku also supports dictation and In Basket access. Haiku works on both the iPhone and iPod touch,” according to the app’s description on the AppStore.
“Your organization needs to license Haiku and be on Epic’s Summer 2009 version and will determine the exact feature set and any applicable charges for your use of Haiku. If you are unsure whether you can use Haiku, please contact your administrative staff,” the app description advises. Keep reading>>
Tags: Anthem Blue Cross | Bluetooth | CHF | congestive heart failure | Ideal Life | pilots | wireless remote monitoring |
Anthem Blue Cross, the trade name for Blue Cross of California, announced plans last week to work with wireless health company Ideal Life on a pilot program for congestive heart failure (CHF) patients called CARE (Congestive Heart Failure Ambulatory Remote monitoring and Engagement). Ideal Life is providing its wireless body weight scales for in-home use in an effort to leverage remote monitoring devices to more efficiently triage members with chronic heart conditions, while identifying patients at risk for a possible acute health crisis. The program also aims to prevent costly and unnecessary emergency room visits and hospitalizations. Anthem Blue Cross plans to deploy the remote monitoring devices through participating HMO medical groups and independent practice associations.
Ideal Life’s remote monitoring system transmits a patient’s biometric data via Bluetooth their home hub gateway, the Ideal Life Pod, and then through a standard telephone line to a secure online data repository. Ideal Life’s Bluetooth-enabled body weight scale will enable care workers to intervene when patients experience a sudden increase in body weight, which often leads to hospitalization for heart failure.
Last May, Ideal Life announced findings from a study they conducted using their weight scale to help prevent CHF: Keep reading>>
Tags: DoApps | Mayo Clinic | medical smartphone apps | mRemedy | symptom checker | Symptom Navigator |
Last week we reported on Mayo Clinic’s new mobile-focused startup: mRemedy, which is creating smartphone applications based on Mayo’s medical research. mRemedy is a joint collaboration with application developer DoApps. The venture’s first application was a meditation application that teaches users breathing exercises and other methods for reducing stress. According to a report from SmarterTechnology, mRemedy’s second app, Mayo Clinic will be creating its own medical smartphone apps, too and the first one should be available later this year: A free “Symptom Checker” that will try to define the user’s malady, explain its most common causes and also advise a user when to visit a physician.
UPDATE: Mayo Clinic spokesperson Kathleen Anderson wrote in to explain that “not all Mayo Clinic mobile apps developed by Mayo will be part of mRemedy. The Symptom Checker app will be solely a Mayo Clinic app and not part of mRemedy.”
“Our second app will come from the Mayo Clinic’s global products and services area–a symptom checker app that works like the one at MayoClinic.com, but which will be made available as a free download so you can use it anywhere, anytime,” Anderson told SmarterTechnology in a recent interview.
For the full report, head over to SmarterTechnology
Tags: cardiovascular | Diovan | Novartis | organ transplantation | pharmaceuticals | Proteus Biomedical | psychiatric | tuberculosis | venture capital |
Pharmaceutical giant Novartis announced that would invest $24M in upfront cash and equity as part of an exclusive worldwide agreement for the pharma company to license Proteus Biomedical’s sensing technology for organ transplantation. (That must be the kind of exclusive deal Novartis had in mind when the two companies announced their collaboration on a pilot last year.)
As part of the deal, Novartis also has “certain” options rights related to oncology, cardiovascular, and clinical development. To date, Proteus has focused on cardiovascular disease, tuberculosis and psychiatric disorders applications for its technology, which is currently undergoing clinical investigation.
Last September Novartis tapped Proteus for a small 20 patient study to track patients’ compliance with their blood pressure drug regimen. The patients took blood pressure drug Diovan and the study organizers tracked their compliance via Proteus’ “chip in the pill” technology, which reports to a receiver sensor on the patient’s shoulder when the medication has been ingested. The study improved compliance from 30 percent to 80 percent after six months, according to Novartis. Keep reading>>
Tags: Diabetes | InterWest Partners | Medtronic | MicroCHIPS | MIT | Novartis | On Demand Therapeutics | Polaris Venture Partners | venture capital | wireless implantable devices |
Bedford, Massachusetts-based MicroCHIPS recently announced another $16.5 million in venture capital. The company is developing an implantable medical device that will deliver drugs inside the body. This third round of funding brings the company’s total funding to just north of $70 million, according to the company. InterWest Partners joined previous investors Polaris Venture Partners, Flybridge Capital Partners, Novartis and Medtronic.
MicroCHIPS spun of out MIT more than ten years ago. The company aims to enable patients and clinicians to monitor and control implanted drug dispensing chips via wireless technology. MicroCHIPs said the funding will go toward its first human trials of the devices. These trials will focus on patients with diabetes and osteoporosis.
According to a report over at Technology Review, some of the funding will also support a new joint venture that MicroCHIPS created with InterWest called On Demand Therapeutics, which is based in San Francisco. Keep reading>>
