I have seen the revolution in non-intelligent non-networked medical devices, essentially becoming connected. Three significant events triggered this revolution. 1. This all started out with the approval of 802.11b in 1999, and simply has not stopped. 2. The next event was the roll-out of 3G both GSM and CDMA, and then the new “smart phone” form factors. Essentially like my son said, it is a PC that just happens to make phone calls. So this convergence has brought many possibilities. I have known David Albert, M.D., for almost 20 years, even when I lived in Oklahoma. Dave is one of the most brilliant and visionary guys I know. Well he has taken what used to be the Heart Card (former Instromedix), then turned the I-Phone into full fledged “cardiac event recorder”. However, rather than having to hold the Heart Card up to an old telephone, you use the cellular services to send this into your own personal portal. Exact same with Wi-Things, and complete portable Non-Invasive Blood Pressure monitor that follows the same use model. So what really does this all mean? If you were in the past having to self monitor your pulse and blood pressure there was not a real effective way to do this real time and send the results to your physician. Especially, if you are like me who likes to travel across the pond the Europe. This convergence and ability to real time take measurements have them centralized so your physician can see is going to lower healthcare costs. An easy way to take these measurements, also will help with changes in lifestyle and improve long term results. I think any person that had a pacemaker or AICD implanted should have these tools at their disposal.
