Wireless to Dominate Medical Monitoring

With iPads replacing charts in doctors' offices and smartphone apps appearing to diagnose just about every medical issue, it should be no surprise that 89 percent of heart rate monitor patents and 71 percent of blood-glucose monitor patents currently incorporate wireless technology, according to a new report from research firm CambridgeIP.

The British company found wireless technology in 31 percent of the 26,503 medical patents it examined. CambridgeIP's report explained that "ready-made open interface standards, such as Bluetooth, Wi-Fi or the humble USB port" can easily connect monitors to smartphones and use their processing power and connectedness to deliver medical information.

That simple equation, according to the report, has made it easier for companies like Qualcomm, Hewlett-Packard and Sharp to move into a new revenue source in the medical technology field.

"The entry of external players from the telecoms and consumer electronics industries may yet lead to an increased diversity of telehealth products on the market place, and a higher rate of innovation", the report said.

But just because there may be more monitoring products resulting from telecommunications companies doesn't mean the newcomers will put established monitor-makers like Medtronic out of business. The new systems may be more portable and likely less expensive, but the older brands are more established and highly regulated.

Regulation of wireless devices isn't strict, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has yet to approve use of this technology. At a conference in 2009, Don Witters of the FDA Center for Devices and Radiological Health said he wasn't sure if the FDA would look into regulating devices like a diagnostic app on an iPhone.

It's hard telling where the FDA will stand on apps, monitors or anything else that comes about in the Internet age that incorporates wireless technology and medical technology, but the FDA will likely have to take a stance soon as these become more prevalent. And if they choose not to regulate, patients and doctors may just go with the old standby.