Last week at the CTIA Wireless IT & E event in San Diego, close to 30 wireless health companies exhibited their wares on the show floor. For those readers who were not in attendance and for those looking for a round-up of the companies on-site, we put together a slide show describing each of the companies exhibiting.
The companies range in size from established tech companies to wireless health start-ups just coming out of stealth mode. Their products range from wireless sensors, health services, remote monitoring technology and more. Enjoy this virtual stroll through the Wireless Health Pavilion in the slides to follow ...
's booth was situated just one row apart from the Wireless Health Pavilion, but the company was certainly there with a health focused agenda. Jitterbug's Live Nurse service was a finalist in the Best Mobile Consumer Applications Category in the CTIA Hot for the Holidays Awards Program. The company is also actively promoting it's Live Nurse service on the company's website:
For only $4 per month*, Jitterbug LiveNurse brings you health care advice whenever you need it. Brought to you in partnership with FONEMED, Jitterbug LiveNurse is part of our continued commitment to provide you with a family of helpful and easy to use services. Jitterbug LiveNurse provides you with 24-hour unlimited access to registered nurses and more:
Friendly, Registered Nurses - You can speak to an experienced, registered nurse in English or Spanish, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Health Information Library - 24-hour access to a pre-recorded health library, featuring current information on hundreds of general health topics. You can ask the nurse to connect you to the library to learn about the topic of your choice.
Updated Personal Health History - Helpful nurses document the health topics you discuss each time you call, allowing them to better serve you by addressing your specific issues or concerns the next time you call.
Triage Wireless' executives were on site inside the Qualcomm pavilion demonstrating the latest iteration of the company's cuffless, wireless blood pressure device. Triage was located at the Qualcomm main booth -- outside of the Wireless Health Pavilion. Since Qualcomm's booth offered free espressos, the Triage team demonstrated their vital sign monitoring between sips of the highly caffeinated brews.
From the company's website: Triage Wireless is developing a Rapid Response Monitor, ViSi,a wireless platform for continuous vital signs monitoring that keeps clinicians connected to their patients, whether in transport, in the emergency room or in general inpatient units. Featuring comfortable body-worn sensors that allow for freedom of movement and multiple vital-sign capture, the technology also enables continuous accurate blood pressure measurement for ambulatory patients without the need for frequent cuff inflation.
We last reported on Airstrip Technologies on September 29th when Charlotte, North Carolina-based Premier healthcare alliance inked a deal with the mobile application developer for AirStrip OB, which provides obstetricians and nurses with real-time, remote access to fetal and maternal waveform data, including fetal heart rate and maternal contractions. Premier began offering the application to its 2,200 hospital members about a month ago.
AirStrip OB works with the BlackBerry and iPhone platforms as well as a number of Windows Mobile phones and delivers vital patient waveform data — including fetal heartbeat and maternal contraction patterns — in virtual real-time directly from the hospital labor and delivery unit to a doctor's mobile wireless device. The mobile solution’s reputation grew after it was featured during a demonstration at an iPhone developer conference earlier this year — the AirStrip OB application only received FDA clearance this past April.
AirStrip’s existing customers include Cleveland Clinic and Texas Health Resources, both of which are members of the Premier healthcare alliance purchasing group. AirStrip has more than 100 customers already.
The American Telemedicine Association is the leading resource and advocate promoting access to medical care for consumers and health professionals via telecommunications technology. ATA seeks to bring together diverse groups from traditional medicine, academic medical centers, technology and telecommunications companies, e-health, medical societies, government and others to overcome barriers to the advancement of telemedicine through the professional, ethical and equitable improvement in health care delivery.
Established in 1993 as a non-profit organization and headquartered in Washington, DC, membership in the Association is open to individuals, healthcare institutions, companies and other organizations with an interest in promoting the deployment of telemedicine throughout the world. ATA is governed by a Board of Directors, which is elected by the association's membership.
ATA said it was working to beef up its wireless health sessions at its events next year.
iMetrikus specializes in interactive health management and remote patient monitoring for populations with conditions that include asthma, diabetes, COPD, cardiovascular disease, obesity as well as general wellness. We market in the United States and internationally through payers, integrated delivery networks, and pharmacies.
The product shown to the right, MediCompass® Connect is an FDA-cleared telehealth gateway for members to seamlessly upload biometric data from over 50 personal health monitoring devices from market-leading manufacturers, including glucose monitors, insulin pumps, blood pressure monitors, digital spirometers, pedometers, and weight scales. The easy-to-use system conveniently transfers data via a standard phone line or Internet-enabled PC using our “one-button” MetrikLink® connectivity hub or, for those devices with the capability, connected directly to the PC.
This data is then seamlessly integrated with core population health management systems, such as disease and wellness programs, personal and electronic health records, provider practice tools, predictive modeling applications, etc.
Automatic Manufacturing Ltd. is a design and manufacturing services provider for electronics products, including medical and healthcare devices, automotive electronics, office equipments & telecom products, industrial controls & home automation products.
AML is a cGMP practicing manufacturer with FDA and SFDA registered facilities, which produces world-class products for the international market with CCC, CE, UL, GS, FCC and other safety and regulatory approvals.
AML owns several manufacturing facilities in Dongguan China, and one additional trading office in Shanghai. For those concerned with manufacturing certifications: The company's factories are ISO 9001, ISO 13485 and ISO/TS 16949 standard certified.
CardioNet, a supplier of Mobile Cardiac Outpatient Telemetry (MCOT), provides next-generation ambulatory cardiac monitoring service with beat-to-beat, real time analysis, automatic arrhythmia detection and wireless ECG transmission.
The company's Director of Business Development Aaron Goldmuntz recently laid out his company’s growth strategy during a presentation at Qualcomm’s Smart Services Leadership Summit in July. Immediate opportunities for growth, Goldmuntz said, include leveraging CardioNet’s platform to develop additional applications that relate to atrial fibrillation. Adjacent markets could include work in clinical trials, increased business with cardiac surgeons, applications addressing stroke prevention as well as leveraging the CardioNet platform for use internationally.
Beyond those adjacent markets, Goldmuntz has also pointed to other conditions that CardioNet sees as potential opportunities for wireless diagnostic and monitoring tools, including: sleep apnea, hypertension, heart failure, diabetes and neurology.
When it comes to interoperability between medical devices and services: Continua is the looking to be the glue that binds. From the Continua website: Continua Health Alliance is a non-profit, open industry coalition of the finest healthcare and technology companies joining together in collaboration to improve the quality of personal healthcare. With more than 200 member companies around the world, Continua is dedicated to establishing a system of interoperable personal health solutions with the knowledge that extending those solutions into the home fosters independence, empowers individuals and provides the opportunity for truly personalized health and wellness management.
Corventis, a remote monitoring and diagnostics solutions provider announced last month that is had finished enrolling patients into its MUSIC (Multi-Sensor Monitoring in Congestive Heart Failure) program, which includes two trials: the MUSIC Asia (180 patients) and the pivotal MUSIC study (362 patients). The trials aim to develop and evaluate an algorithm to predict heart failure events.
The Corventis system monitors respiration rate, patient activity levels, and fluid levels in a patient’s body through a water-proof, adhesive sensor that is applied to the patient’s skin. Corventis’ primary use case is for predicting heart failure, which has been the aim of is MUSIC clinical trial. The company is also trying to determine if the system can accurately diagnose sleep apnea through changes in respiration and blood oxygen levels — a future version of the device will include a sensor for blood oxygen.
Corventis is the first start-up that the West Wireless Health Institute has committed to. The trial is designed to clinically validate remote wireless monitoring technology in proactively managing heart failure patients and reducing hospital readmissions, according to the Institute’s press release.
From their website: GenerationOne, Inc.'s mobile health program provides up-to-the minute monitoring, reminders, alerts and nursing support delivered through a mobile phone. The service is designed for users from all demographics and age ranges to stay in touch with caregivers and doctors. The GenerationOne Mobile Solution includes a nationwide voice and data network and a specially-designed health phone. While the company's health phone is optimized to deliver health-related information, their solution is designed so it can also be easily programmed to work with other compatible mobile phones as well.
From their website: Guard RFID develops Active Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technologies and products for Healthcare and Enterprise applications. Guard RFID’s products can accurately track and locate assets and people, and are used for enhanced automation, workflow, monitoring and security solutions. Guard RFID’s ability to support multiple applications on its platform positions the company to be able to offer combined people and asset solutions all on the same infrastructure. Founded in early 2007, Guard RFID introduced the first low-cost disposable Active RFID tags to the market, eliminating the need to recycle tags, and allowing for mass deployment for a reasonable investment.
InTouch Health is a robotics technology company based in Santa Barbara, California. InTouch Health's family of RP-7 Robots are wireless, mobile, Remote Presence robots that allow its users to be in "two places at once." Under the direct control of a physician seated remotely at on of the company's ControlStations, the Robot can move untethered allowing the controlling physician to freely interact with patients, family members and hospital staff from anywhere, anytime. The ControlStation and RP-7 Robot are linked via a secure combination of broadband, the Internet and wireless technology. The RP-7 and RP-7i Robots are FDA-approved and enable customers to connect to FDA-cleared medical devices such as electronic stethoscopes, otoscopes, ECG machines, and ultrasound.
From BusinessWeek.com: Intrinsyc Software International, Inc. operates as a mobile software and services company. The company offers proprietary software products on a licensed basis, as well as provides platform software solutions and navigation/location based services (LBS) for handheld products, including smart phones, and other mobile and embedded devices. Its products include Destinator, a navigation and LBS platform for original equipment manufacturers, original device manufacturers, software and silicon providers, and telecommunications service providers; and ToBe Gateway Server for delivering content services based on location.
The company’s products also include the Soleus Transit platform for connected personal navigation devices; Soleus, a complete software platform for mobile device development; J-Integra that provides solutions for connecting Java directly to .NET, COM+ server, and Exchange objects. The company also offers software engineering services for mobile handheld products, which include consumer mobile handsets, personal navigation devices, smartphones, and other embedded devices, as well as for silicon vendors. In addition, it provides board support package, power management, training and support, user interface design, and Webcasts services. It serves customers in the United States, Canada, and Europe. The company was formerly known as Intrinsyc Software, Inc. and changed its name to Intrinsyc Software International, Inc. in May 2003. Intrinsyc Software International, Inc. was founded in 1992 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.
The IsisIQ by Isis Biopolymer is a compact, wireless, active iontophoretic patch using a patented design that implements advances in microprocessors, thin film batteries, biopolymers and proprietary adhesives that allow for widespread use. The device also employs patented drug delivery techniques that will enable multiple drugs, as well as a wide variety of drugs, to be delivered.
The IsisIQ is supported by a proprietary software based patient care management system for physicians and pharmacists. This system allows healthcare professionals to manage and monitor drug delivery through the IsisIQ.
The MedApps System is wireless, portable, and automated (Telehealth 2.0). MedApps utilizes cellular and Bluetooth technology to enable care management companies to extend the proven care and cost-avoidance benefits of remote health monitoring services to a much larger patient population.
The MedApps System automatically and non-invasively collects and transmits data from remote patients health monitors and provides care management companies with data monitoring and reporting capabilities. Collected readings are sent wirelessly to a secure central server, from which data can be accessed by the patient's care provider for monitoring and review. The data can be integrated to electronic medical records or enterprise health repositories, such as Microsoft HealthVault, Google Health and others.
The MedApps System is FDA cleared for use with glucose meters, blood pressure monitors, weight scales and pulse oximeters from a variety of manufacturers. This combination of devices allows the monitoring of patients with Diabetes, Congestive Heart Failure (CHF), Hypertension and COPD, which represents the greatest percentage of chronic disease and healthcare spend in the U.S. and the world.
Montage Systems provides design and manufacturing services to clients that market technology products. Montage collaborates with industry leaders as well as emerging growth companies to develop and commercialize their technology products. The company's capabilities include mechanical and industrial design, electronics and embedded software. Montage Systems has teamed up with one of the largest cell phone innovators to develop a unified platform to be used by wireless health organizations worldwide. Our team includes FDA certified practitioners to ensure proper design and manufacturing compliance throughout this process.
Recent projects include:
* Developing the first wireless blood glucose meter
* Spearheading the design and development of a certifiable wireless health phone platform
Qualcomm Wireless Health
Qualcomm had a big booth outside of the pavilion as well as a smaller booth within it. As the leading evangelist of wireless health in the San Diego area and beyond, rumor had it that Qualcomm subsidized 21 of the 25 companies exhibiting in the pavilion last week. Qualcomm acts as both mentor and investor in a number of the start-ups listed here.
Simba Technologies is a supplier of standards-based data access solutions located in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Simba Technologies specializes in connectivity for ODBC, JDBC, OLE DB for OLAP (ODBO) and XML for Analysis (XMLA). The company’s products include a JDBC/ODBC SDK, an OLAP/ODBO/XMLA SDK, a SQL to MDX adaptor, an ODBO to XMLA bridge, and MDX Provider for Oracle OLAP, and other data connectivity products.
Simba Technologies customers include Microsoft, Hyperion Solutions, MIS AG, SAP AG and Descisys.
Valencell showcased its Healthset® technology which measures heart rate, metabolic rate (calories burned) and aerobic fitness through audio earbuds to provide more seamless ways to track fitness and performance. Users simply put on the Healthset® enabled wireless headset, go about their daily routine, make calls, enjoy music, exercise or train for a run while Healthset® technologies track heart rate, distance traveled, calories burned and VO2max (aka aerobic fitness). The Data can then be sent wirelessly to to a mobile device or uploaded to the web where users can track their fitness.
WellDoc Inc. is a healthcare company that develops technology-based solutions to improve diabetes outcomes and reduce healthcare costs. Founded by an endocrinologist, WellDoc understands diabetes and the complexities involved for both patients and health care providers. Optimal diabetes outcomes are only achieved when patients’ blood glucose, blood pressure, cholesterol, behaviors, and lifestyles are simultaneously managed. Our solution simplifies this complexity through a collaborative, life-changing approach that securely harnesses real-time, actionable information to break down the barriers of engagement and treatment adherence. Our convergence of clinical and technological innovation has demonstrated the ability to achieve a 2-point drop in HbA1c within 90 days for both tech- and non-tech savvy patients, with an ensuing value proposition of a $27B annual cost savings to the US Healthcare system.
Wireless Innovation Network of BC (WINBC) promotes the fast growth and sustainability of British Columbia, Canada as one of the world's best wireless technology clusters and communities and a center of excellence in the research, development and deployment of wireless solutions. This industry association representing more than 250 BC wireless technology companies generating in excess of $1B in revenues. In May 2010, WINBC will host the International Vancouver Digital Week that will focus on Green technology, Health and Entertainment.
Sensiotec is a wireless medical technology company focused on commercializing and connecting next-generation, unbound, noncontact monitoring devices and providing end-to-end connectivity solutions that improve healthcare quality and safety, and reduce costs.
Sensiotec's Preventa solution enables vital signs monitoring and ambulatory patient tracking, measuring on a real-time, continuous, remote basis. Without the use of pressure pads, electrodes, leads, suctions or other attachments to the human body that can cause bruising and other skin injury, Preventa can be used for tracking heart rate, respiration, bed occupancy and movement, and location.
In Acute Care, Preventa is suitable for single patients, individual wards or entire hospital systems, enabling nurses to "watch" patients virtually from remote locations. In Chronic Care, Preventa is a Disease Management Tool, helping to optimize scarce human resources and coordinate clinically necessary interventions to reduce complications associated with common chronic illnesses.
Preventa also provides an End-to-End Connectivity Solution using a web-based Clinical System Organizer, a communications hub and other medical devices. This solution monitors CHF, COPD, diabetes and retinopathy, hypertension and anticoagulation in addition to vital signs, bed occupancy, bed movement and location. In early 2008, Sensiotec received FDA approved for its core monitoring technology.
The Wireless-Life Sciences Alliance is an unparalleled international think tank that puts CEOs from the world’s most innovative wireless health companies together with global leaders in healthcare and technology, to accelerate business opportunities.
Alliance partnership and event participation is exclusively extended to senior executives of life sciences and wireless technology companies, entrepreneurs, academia, and capital sources.
Back in May, Microsoft’s Senior Director of Worldwide Health Bill Crounse posted an article on his HealthBlog about the Wound Technology Network, which is a nationwide physician network that uses Windows Mobile-based phones for remote wound care.
“Every clinician understands the challenges associated with wound care,” wrote Crounse. “The process is slow, time-consuming, complex, and expensive. Non-healing, ulcerations and wounds are associated with a variety of chronic conditions including diabetes, peripheral vascular disease and stasis. Non-healing wounds are also associated with immobility due to aging, injury, paralysis, or other co-morbid conditions. Many of these patients end up being hospitalized to treat secondary infections, or to provide the intensive regime needed to heal chronic ulcerations or wounds. Hospitalization itself is risky as it exposes these susceptible patients to dangers they might not otherwise encounter in their home environment such as MRSA.”
WTN’s Windows Mobile phones help the caregivers capture information via the phone’s camera at the point of care. The data can then be transmitted and incorporated into the medical record for continuity of care. WTN can then support caregiver collaboration with two-way audio and video streaming at the bedside.
Aventyn provides solutions for securely connecting and integrating portable patient-centric electronic health records with hospitals, clinicians and patients. Our unique approach uses RFID, wireless sensors to connect relevant clinical data to the EMR for improved efficiency of healthcare delivery. Use of our ehealthXML and healthKrypt security technologies enable portability and secure sharing of health information on ARM and x86 platforms.
Aventyn’s unique modular architectural approach to build connected health information software is a key competitive advantage. We develop products that take on the toughest health information interoperability and information security challenges on current and emerging computing platforms. CLIP web-based solutions with integrated wireless sensor, RFID capability is deployed at Hospitals and Physician Offices.
Product offerings: Comprehensive electronic patient record management; Seamless patient administration from admission to discharge; Capture and share patient-centric health information securely; Efficiently manage medication, lab investigations and chronic diseases; Automated Unique Identification and Authentication; Secure User, Device Centric Data Rights; Improved HIPAA Compliancy and Auditing Policies.
