At the American Telemedicine Association in Austin Texas, Nonin showed off its newest product, the Nonin 3230 Bluetooth Smart-enabled pulse oximeter. The product is still awaiting FDA 510(K) clearance, but the product is on track to be the first wireless pulse oximeter to use the low energy communication protocol, also known as Bluetooth 4 or Bluetooth LE.

The device is worn on the fingertip with a display built in that shows the user's blood oxygenation. Bluetooth Smart will allow the device to pair more quickly and easily with connected hubs and apps, have a longer battery life, and be offered at a lower cost.

Early last month, IMS Research projected that Bluetooth Smart would boom in the health sensor market, covering more than 50 percent of the market by 2016, with 5.7 million shipments.

Like Nonin's existing Bluetooth pulse ox, the Onyx II, the 3230 will likely be offered only via Nonin's partners and not directly to consumers, a spokesperson for the company told MobiHealthNews. Nonin's partners that employ the device in remote patient monitoring and telemedicine include Bosch, GE Intel Care Innovations, and Qualcomm Life.

Nonin told MobiHealthNews the company expected the device to receive FDA clearance by late August or early September. The company also expects to get Continua certification for the new device. Nonin's previous Bluetooth pulse ox was the first product to ever be certified by the Continua Health Alliance, back in 2009.

Nonin has high profile partners and looks to have a leg up on Bluetooth Smart, but the company has seen a rise in competition for its core offering in recent months, with iHealth announcing a Bluetooth pulse ox at CES and Masimo introducing a consumer-marketed connected pulse oximeter last December.