Bluetooth LE or 4.0 is disruptive technology that will re-shape the medical device landscape. I really do not like the term of 4.0, because it tends to describe this as another evolution of BT. It is not a evolution, but in my opinion a revolution. It is my prediction that every medical device will eventually have this incorporated. The reason I am so bold to say this is that I was a senior systems analyst at the company that was the founding member of the WIFI Alliance in 1999. So I remember exactly when 802.11b came out. The rest what we say is history! I also as a research project with an infusion pump company that got bought out demonstrated for the first time the ability to control an infusion pump by a wireless fashion…long time ago, year 2001. This was “before the smart infusion pump…entered into the market”!
Bluetooth 4.0 just makes sense for a variety of connectivity reasons. Technology disruption becomes available in the enterprise, as is first enters into the consumer space. Bluetooth LE or 4.0 has been adopted by the IOS and Android platforms as well as being incorporated in virtual every smart phone and tablet device. Those companies that quickly embrace the technology as the path to competitive differentiation will be the winners.
For a small incremental cost Bluetooth 4.0 can be incorporated and while WIFI does have it’s specific niche, the ability of having the medical device adapt to different wireless application modalities has a use merit. Just think of the Smart Phone Use model.
Most of the WLAN players have or will be now incorporating Bluetooth 4.0 into their access points. So in essences what we now are creating is a real “personal area Bluetooth network” that can use the WLAN as the backhaul. With the potential of using the location capabilities of BTLE, we could have a very cost affordable and adaptable RTLS solution.
Business Insider magazine estimates that there are over 200 million iPhones and iPads currently deployed that are capable of acting as or receiving signals from iBeacons. Of course, once Android and other devices are added to the mix, the market potential grows even bigger; Analyst ABI Research puts the space at $5 billion today, but predicts a rather modest Bluetooth Smart beacon deployment figure of 20,000 by 2015. By 2018 however, ABI predict that over 800 million smartphones will be actively using indoor location for applications, making the technology as widespread in smartphones as GPS is today.
As for what this market will look like, ABI speculate that the development of technologies like sensor fusion for handsets will enable a whole new set of consumer applications. These potential applications will span ambient intelligence, social networking, corporate and enterprise, fitness and health, mobile advertising, and gaming.
Nordic Semiconductor has released a reference design for Bluetooth Smart beacons based on its nrF51822 System-on-Chip (SoC). The reference design allows beacons developed to Apple’s iBeaconTM standards, and proprietary smart beacon hardware for iOS and Android mobiles, to be developed quickly and easily.
Bluetooth Smart beacons are low-cost, low- power wireless transmitters that can advertise their location to Bluetooth Smart ready smartphones in close proximity.
Adding low power wireless connectivity to a product has become less of a challenge as chipmakers serve up proven silicon, reference designs, and development kits. But designing an RF link from scratch is still far from a trivial exercise. Quick to spot an opportunity, commercial vendors now offer pre- engineered wireless solutions in the form of modules. Such devices have been optimized by the manufacturer to provide maximum range and bandwidth while meeting the regulatory requirements for operation in the Industrial, Scientific, Medical (ISM) 2.4-GHz band. Some are even delivered with certification proving they comply with a particular wireless standard.
The market is rapidly expanding: According to analyst IHS, worldwide revenue for the low-power wireless modules market will reach $1.40 billion this year, up a robust 14 percent from $1.23 billion in 2013. The company says this is the third consecutive year of double digit expansion for the market.
IHS forecasts that the fastest- growing market for low-power wireless modules in the immediate future will be sports and fitness monitoring, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 49 percent.
The underlying growth in the application of wireless technologies in these markets will be the primary reason for the increase in module shipments. However, a secondary reason for expansion is the high rate of adoption of Bluetooth Smart, ANT+, EnOcean, RF4CE, and Z-Wave wireless technologies.
While these multivendor solutions are enjoying growth, low-power wireless technology is moving away from proprietary protocols, according to the company. Proprietary protocols made up 88 percent of module shipments in 2011, but will only account for about 50 percent by 2018. Key drivers for this trend are that customers are looking for interoperable communications across diverse systems, and want devices to communicate with mobile platforms like smartphones, tablet computers and laptops, without requiring dongles.
The ‘BlueTEG’ wristband sensor uses the temperature difference between the wearer’s skin and surrounding air to harvest enough energy to power the sensor’s systems. The device can measure parameters such as acceleration or ambient temperature and transmit the data to any Bluetooth Smart Ready smartphone, tablet, or computer.
Developed by the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS in Germany, the BlueTEG does not require a battery eliminating the need for it to be recharged or changed.
The BlueTEG is said to employ little more than a conventional thermogenerator and a special voltage converter developed by the Fraunhofer ISS, while being compatible with all types of body-worn wireless sensor systems and could even be integrated into multifunction GPS watches, for example.
