West Wireless Health Institute to conduct Corventis trial – Heart Monitoring Patch With Cell Phones

Back in April I had posted about the band aid like device. It requires a Bluetooth devices to send data to. It appears now that the devices portion is being somewhat eliminated through testing and data will go directly to a cell phone. Finally someone who agrees with my concern and importance of wireless medical reporting devices, Dr. Eric Topol of the Wireless Institute!

As much as I have been stating the same line of thought, EMR/EHR information is important no doubt, but the explosive side of health care information that is taking place right now is in devices. Nobody seems to be paying much attention and the devices can be programmed and sending data much faster than a group of lawmakers or clinicians can make decisions, that is a no brainer. These devices report data that becomes an immediate part of a health record and the back side of technology moves on while so many others just seems to agree to disagree.

Medical device data needs attention now and needs to be addressed under the “meaningful use” clauses before it gets out of hand with no control over where your data goes and who gets it. We don’t want to end up in the same boat as we are now with the prescription data generated from drug stores about our prescription data that is sold and marketed. Ingenix is one company that markets our information to insurers. The HHS has no control over this data that eventually becomes part of a patient medical record. Not too far off is the Bluetooth inhaler that will create a full data report on when and how you inhale and send messages to alert those that you are potentially out of compliance, more at the links below. BD

Participatory Sensing – Medical Devices Reporting Data for Patient Compliance

The Heart Monitoring Patch – Wireless Connection to the Server for Reporting and Alerting the Doctor

A 15-centimeter wireless sensor, recently approved by the FDA, holds the promise of reducing hospitalizations by allowing automated early detection of heart failure. The noninvasive device, which costs a few hundred dollars and adheres to a patient's chest, monitors indicators of heart health--including heart and respiration rates, levels of patient activity, and even the accumulation of body fluid--as patients go about their daily lives.

Part of a technology platform now being marketed by Corventis, a startup in San Jose, CA, the waterproof sensor beams data to a special cell-phone-like gadget in the patient's pocket or home. From there, the data is wirelessly transmitted to the company's servers. Algorithms detect anomalies and transmit data to physicians via the Web or a mobile device, drawing attention to patients who need immediate care.

According to a report from the Wall Street Journal, the West Wireless Health Institute will soon announce plans to conduct a clinical trial with Corventis, a remote heart monitoring company. Corventis makes use of a Band Aid-like wireless sensor-enabled patch that sends heart readings through Bluetooth to a patients’ iPhone or BlackBerry. The data is then transmitted to a physician’s office and the physician is alerted if any irregularities appear in the readings.

The West Wireless Health Institute told the Wall Street Journal that other device makers are looking to team up with the Institute to conduct trials of their own. For now, though, the focus will be on Corventis.