The fact that more than 30 percent of American households no longer have landlines might have some unintended consequences in healthcare.
As the Wall Street Journal reports, implanted defibrillators may be wireless devices, but the in-home base stations the heart monitors transmit data to still need landlines to relay information to the device makers. The manufacturers, notably Medtronic and St....
Will heart failure sensor startup CardioMEMS be wireless health's first big acquisition target? Medical device maker St. Jude Medical just announced a $60 million equity investment in CardioMEMS, which includes the exclusive option to acquire the startup for $375 million after certain milestones are met. The current investment also grants St. Jude a 19 percent stake in CardioMEMS.
Cash flush with...
Wireless-enabled implantable devices enable care providers to check-in on a pacemaker's battery levels or how well an infusion pump is functioning, which means care providers can take action to prevent and harm to the patient. Of course that connectivity -- that feedback loop -- could also be used by hackers as a way to hurt people. "Could be" but, according to the Boston Globe, there's never...
Medtronic recently announced a new cellular accessory for its M-Link, which provides cardiac device patients the ability to send information stored in their implanted devices to their clinics via the CareLink Network. The new accessory would enable that transmission to take place over a cellular network instead of through the user's landline phone connection.
“The M-Link cellular accessory is...
St. Jude Medical launched a wireless USB adaptor for its Merlin@home transmitter for patients with implantable cardiac devices. The new adaptor allows important patient data from the patient's implantable cardiac device to be wirelessly downloaded and securely transmitted via cellular networks to a physician for review. Previously Merlin@home required a landline telephone line.
“For patients who...
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...
Home health devices and services for seniors: The Canadian Press has a worthwhile article on devices that aim to help keep seniors living comfortably at home longer in an effort to enable them to stay out of care facilities. The article includes a rundown of GE's recent efforts, including its work with the recently acquired QuietCare technology, but it also includes a brief note from the AARP: "...
CGM start-up raises $3M: Echo Therapeutics, which is developing a needle-free, non-invasive, wireless, transdermal continuous glucose monitoring system and and a system for transdermal drug delivery, raised $3 million in additional capital by selling common stock to accredited and institutional investors. More
Medtronic points to studies lauding CGM: “It’s very exciting to see the evidence unfold...
While investigating potential security holes in wireless pacemakers, Kevin Fu, software engineer and assistant professor of computer science at University of Massachusetts-Amherst, has created a prototype "heart-attack machine," according to a MIT Technology Review report.
Fu spent nine months de-constructing the "matchbook-sized microchip and antenna coil" that connects the latest generation...
