Signature - Q2, 2008 - (Page 13)

communicating via a hub – such as a monitor, PC or cell phone – to track patients from the ambulance, through the emergency room doors, into the operating room or ICU and back home again. You can expect to see the integration of Bluetooth technology into an array of health and wellness devices and services, which will accompany individuals throughout their lives, not just during periods of acute care. For instance, people with chronic disease will be able to better manage their health, and the elderly will be able to extend the time they can live independently, with remote assistance from loved ones and caregivers. In 2002, Nonin Medical, Inc., introduced the first U.S. FDA-certified Bluetooth enabled pulse oximeter and monitor for the measurement of blood oxygen saturation. The device takes a reading from your finger and automatically transmits the data to a PC. Nonin believes the wide-scale adoption of Bluetooth technology, an open-forum standardized protocol with the ability to transmit data safely and securely, will strengthen the medical device industry. Many other medical device manufacturers, including A&D Medical, Zoll Medical Corporation, Medtronic and Ortivus, have adopted Bluetooth technology, and the list is growing. Nonin, along with other Founding Promoters of the Continua Health Alliance, recently announced selection of the Bluetooth Medical Device Profile as the wireless standard of choice for personal area networks. Adoption will enable interoperability across devices, not just between a pulse oximeter and a monitor, but among, say, a pulse oximeter, a blood pressure cuff and an ECG device, all communicating to a monitor without the need for proprietary protocols. As yet, however, costly proprietary systems continue to be the rule in clinical settings. (Picture the chaotic scene at a busy hospital when technology glitches arise and troubleshooting must begin, one system at a time.) Nonin’s mission is to advocate the distinct advantages of Bluetooth wireless technology by citing key features such as reasonable data rates, long- and short-range transmission, ad hoc connectivity, reliability, frequency hopping to avoid interference, secure modes, ability to continuously monitor waveforms yet record just a single reading, and the widespread availability of chipsets and solutions. Ultra low power Bluetooth technology holds additional promise and is a good fit for existing devices such as glucose monitors. We also know that greater reliability and accuracy in data recording saves lives. Recently, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs tested a PDA and barcode system in one of its hospitals for medication distribution and saw a 70 percent reduction in medication error rates. Plans are to introduce the system to all VA hospitals. Jayant (JP) Parthasarathy, Ph.D., is program manager at Nonin Medical, Inc., a former co-chair of the Bluetooth Medical Devices Working Group and chairman of the Continua Health Alliance Core Device Group. “Nonin believes the wide-scale adoption of Bluetooth technology, with the ability to transmit data safely and securely, will strengthen the medical device industry.” — JP Parthasarathy, Nonin Medical, Inc. Bluetooth Special Interest Group | 13

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Signature - Q2, 2008

Signature - Q2, 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.