Advantech provides a number of online resources of interest to enterprises worldwide, including its MedAdvantech Digital Healthcare series devoted to the advancement of patient-centric technologies, and it was there that I came across a June 2012 article contributed by John Koon, publisher of Medical Electronic Device Solution (MEDS), entitled How Wireless Technologies Impact the Future Development of Healthcare. The article may be just six months old, but it already appears prophetic.
Among future trends, Koon anticipates the following:
- Rapid growth of “Telehealth” and “mHealth;”
- Evolution of high-tech home healthcare; and
- Wireless technologies will propel the use of mobile devices in healthcare.
Okay, most of us could have predicted those bare headlines, but not with the supporting specificity that Koons provides.
For example, Koons develops each theme within the context of the shrinking footprints of wireless devices, including medical “ultrasound units, insulin pumps, ECG monitors, blood pressure monitors and glucose meters,” each of which technologies is becoming increasingly mobile. Koons also specifically ties more recent wireless protocols to medical technology, including Bluetooth, ZigBee, ANT and 4G.
As for future growth of telehealth and mHealth, we can anticipate increased demand for such services due, in part, to an increased focus on preventative care. Koon offers the example of Highmark, Incl, a large U.S.-based health-insurance company, which has begun deployment of remote devices and services to mitigate visits to doctor offices and associated travel time and expense. One such device is a remote stethoscope that transmits heart rhythm data, permitting caregivers to perform basic but critical diagnostics without the delays and costs associated with office visits.
As testimony to how widespread the developing telehealth theme is becoming, Ford Motor Company is developing what it bills as Ford In-Car Health and Wellness technologies, as demonstrated by Ford’s SYNC AppLink that features in-seat sensors that monitor a driver’s vital signals, transmitting the data to the driver’s 3G/4G smartphone for transmission to appropriate healthcare providers.
Other examples provided by Koons include devices that monitor patient diagnostics after discharge from the hospital, such as Isansys Lifecare’s LifeTouch Patient Surveillance system, a wearable sensor/transmitter that facilitates remote monitoring of a patient’s ECG signals. Similarly, systems such as Intel-GE Care Innovations’ home-base Link networks allow seniors to communicate with caregivers 24/7/365 with just the press of a button.
Other technologies increasingly leverage our ubiquitous hand-held mobile devices to monitor such diagnostics as ECG signals and glucose levels. Indeed, the proliferation and sophistication of such sensors are advancing rapidly.
If telehealth and mHealth are in your enterprise’s present or future, I encourage you to explore MedAdvantech’s Digital Healthcare resources for yourself.