As new-generation cardiac devices and cardiac event monitoring products converge with wireless networks, medical professionals are acquiring the capability to monitor key patient parameters and implanted device data in near-real time. These new communication-enabled devices function like On-Stars for humans, monitoring cardiac events and sending data on a timed or exception basis. The recent FDA approval of three cardiovascular implants signal the arrival of a new phase in the marriage of electronics and medical devices – one in which critical patient data can be used be caregivers to modify treatment protocols or schedule interventional procedures in response to current patient status regardless of the patient’s location. Products in this sector also include ambulatory vital signs monitors that are designed to send heart rate, BP and related data over a wide area network. 

Successful development and commercialization of this new class of cardiac event monitoring devices requires strong working partnerships and cooperation between and among device developers, wireless providers, and regulators. As these wireless-enabled devices grow and penetrate the population of cardiovascular patients – a population which itself is expected to grow – the importance of service centers, specialized service bureaus that function by relaying device data to the appropriate respondent on an exception basis, will increase in importance. The report also analyzes emerging wireless data platforms, proprietary sensor-enabled systems that allow physiological data to be retrieved via a number of wireless technologies.

Publication Date: July 2006