New Personal Area Network Chip Released
Zarlink introduces (press release) the first ultra low power transceiver chip designed for personal area networks. The chip targets medical applications like wireless sensors and implanted pacemakers, defibrillators, neurostimulators and blood glucose sensors.
According to Zarlink (product specs), the high-speed chip transmits about ten times the data rate of rival products, while consuming about 20 percent of the power. The chip consumes less than 5 mA (milliamps) of supply current while active, and less than 1 mA in low power mode. When not in use, the chip goes into sleep mode, further conserving power. The chip's radio range is about 2 meters.
Zarlink’s ultra low-power RF technology allows high-speed 500 kb/s data transmission over a typical two-meter range. In comparison, previous implanted communication systems relied on magnetic coupling between coils in an in-body device and a base station. This approach operated up to a 10 cm range, with data transmission rates of a few 10s of kb/s. The chip talks to a gateway device that would then connect to a WLAN or wireless WAN.
Any radio application requires two transceivers. The chip released by Zarlink, the ZL70100, is for base station applications. Qualification of the same transceiver chip for implantable applications is currently underway, and this device will be available later this year.
The chip uses the active Medical Implant Communications System (MICS) band between 402-405MHz. Established in 1999, the MICS band is an unlicensed band intended for high-speed, ultra-low power, non-voice communications to and from implanted medical devices. The chips can also be used externally supporting wireless sensors communicating to a gateway device. This external application requires the use of the 433 MHz ISM band (Word doc) intended for RFID applications.
New Washable Computer Keyboards Safeguard Against Spread of Infection
Remember the study released a few weeks ago about the kinds of nasty bugs that can be found on computer keyboards? Well, Unotron has released SpillSeal washable keyboards.
Study coordinator Dr. Charles Gerber, “germ guru” microbiologist at the University of Arizona, reported that keyboards are dirtier than toilet seats, requiring disinfecting or sanitizing to attack most bacteria or viruses.
That was more than I wanted to know. Check out the rest of their unusually informative and brief press release here.
CDC Reports Emergency Department (ED) Visits at All Time High
U.S. emergency department (ED) visits reached a record high of nearly 114 million in 2003, while the number of EDs continued to decrease to 3,910, according to a report released last Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
From 1993 through 2003, the number of ED visits increased 26 percent. The U.S. population rose 12.3 percent during this period, and the 65-and-over population rose 9.6 percent.
The average waiting time to see a physician was 46.5 minutes, the same as it was in 2000. The wait time was unchanged despite increased visits. EDs have implemented a number of efficiencies, including “fast track” units, which may have kept the wait time constant. On average, patients spent 3.2 hours in the ED, which includes time with the physician as well as other clinical services.
Caroline Steinberg, AHA vice president for health trends analysis, said, “This report confirms what we have been hearing — hospitals face rising demand and constrained capacity — and nowhere is this more apparent than in our nation's emergency departments.”
The AHA and the American College of Emergency Physicians released a study in 2002, in which more than 90% of large hospitals reported that their EDs were at or over capacity.
Press release here, you can read or download the full report here (pdf file).
New Hospital Advances Enterprise Connectivity
Here's a short description of the University of Chicago's new Comer Children's Hospital. Even though the 42-in flat screen TVs in each patient room get metioned twice, the real news is the level of innovation in connectivity. Nurse call-VoIP phone integration, InnerWireless wireless utility, RFID, Cisco medical grade network, and patient monitors networked across the hospital all culminate in what is one of the most advanced examples of hospital connectivity.
Perhaps I can convince Eric Yablonka to share with us more of the story behind putting all this together. Read the whole thing.
Forbes Profiles Medtronic
This not too complimentary profile if Medtronic is a good example of what life's like as a medical device industry titan. This is a great description of bare knuckle competition, filled with stories of kickbacks, court and patent battles, restrictive hospital purchase contracts and, of course, recalls. Group purchasing organizations catch a little mud as well. Enjoy.
