According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, Intel and General Electric are planning to announce Thursday a joint venture that the companies are reportedly calling "health care reimagined." The partnership is expected to include applications for home health monitoring using wireless sensors.
The report highlights GE's QuietCare service, which uses wireless motion sensors in homes to track the daily activities of patients in need of remote monitoring. The sensors then transmit that to servers and computers used by a remote healthcare staff.
The companies will hold a press conference in New York, hosted by Intel CEO Paul Otellini and GE CEO Jeffrey Immelt.
Marc Holland, research director at IDC's Health Industry Insights, told the WSJ that if GE and Intel decide to work together in home care, GE might provide monitoring services similar to security services that monitor burglar alarms.
During a recent interview with mobihealthnews, Continua Health Alliance president David Whitlinger said the alliance was currently working on choosing a technology standard for remotely monitoring patients via sensors in the home.