Cambridge Consultants Introduce NFC Medical Device for Management of Diabetes
September 22, 2006 // Published as a news service by IHS
| |
| Medical Device Documents |
IHS medical device standards collections contain EU Directives and Harmonized Standards from the Official Journal of the European Union.
Complete this form for a free quote. |
|
| |
Cambridge Consultants created a medical device for managing diabetes that uses near field communication (NFC) to integrate glucometers and insulin pumps.
The prototype device, developed in conjunction with Royal Philips Electronics, demonstrates how NFC can be used to simplify treatment for diabetics.
The Cambridge Consultants concept device uses the characteristics of NFC to streamline treatment by wirelessly linking a glucometer with an insulin pump.
The glucometer records the blood sugar reading and then recommends a bolus dose of insulin.
If the patient accepts the dose, they swipe the glucometer against the insulin pump which could be located beneath clothing and the drug is delivered. This confirmation feature called patient-in-the-loop dosing enhances confidence and security and allows the user to modify dosage calculations for lifestyle reasons.
"The market for NFC-enabled medical products represents a significant opportunity," said Kirsten West, principal analyst with WTRS.
"Given that soon more than 30% of the world’s population will be over the age of 65, the market for NFC in medical products will be driven by the development of the NFC-enabled mobile phone market, which we forecast to reach 57 million units annually by 2009 with an 87% (compound annual growth rate) CAGR over the five year period from 2006 through 2011."
"NFC has the potential to be a catalyst in developing the efficiency and portability of medical devices for a number of applications," said Richard Traherne, head of wireless communication from Cambridge Consultants.
"It both simplifies treatment and aids patient compliance, which makes it a win-win solution for easing the treatment of many problematic medical conditions. Initially, we're developing a device that demonstrates NFC as a way of improving the management of diabetes, but we see strong potential for the technology in a wide array of medical applications including pain relief, asthma and respiratory care, gastric electrical stimulation therapy and treatments for congestive heart failure or urinary urge incontinence."
Source: Cambridge Consultants.