Frost: Wireless Technologies on the Rise in European Health Care
April 13, 2006
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Heightened awareness about the benefits of remote monitoring, combined with the growing popularity of home care, will likely boost the uptake of wearable wireless patient monitoring systems in Europe over the next four to five years, according to Frost & Sullivan. Technological developments that will support improved patient flexibility while offering substantial cost savings to health care authorities will likely support these trends.
The expanded adoption of remote monitoring and home care in the health care environment is giving a boost to enabling technologies, such as wearable patient monitoring systems. Based on patient area networks, wearable patient monitoring platforms are ideally suited to facilitate flexible treatment regimes. Analysts said such technologies are also providing impetus to the transition of European health care systems toward expanded use of home care.
The development of wearable wireless monitoring systems has significantly improved patient mobility. Wearable wireless sensor networks have the advantage of being less restrictive in patient movement than traditional telemetry systems, helping accelerate the patient recovery process.
"In addition to enhancing patient comfort, speeding the recovery process and supporting greater patient flows to cost-effective home care settings, wireless systems are also helping avoid the very high costs involved in the laying of wires and cables in hospitals," said Frost & Sullivan senior research analyst Aarati Ajay. "The return on investment is higher than that provided by wired systems, and with advancements in wireless technology, the systems are likely to reach higher standards of sophistication."
As a technology that helps reduce tremendous cost burdens on hospital authorities, wireless networking has been widely adopted by health care facilities across Germany, France and the U.K. Technological advances that enable superior product development will further bolster uptake levels, analysts said.
For instance, technological progress is likely to assuage concerns over the reliability of vital signs data transmitted over shared wireless networks. The ability of sophisticated wireless wearable sensor networks to ensure the safety and integrity of such data is set to drive adoption levels over the next five to seven years, with growth opportunities arising in hospital and home care settings.
"While significant progress has been made, the technologies that have been considered for the development of these wearable devices are still facing minor technical challenges," said Ajay. "There are several competing technology platforms that are being tested to create unique patient area networks."
Apart from technology issues, concerns also linger about regulatory challenges and high outlays involved in achieving cost-benefit data. The process of accumulating cost-benefit data needed to receive regulatory approvals is both lengthy and expensive. In addition, manufacturers have to present sufficient clinical data to medical practitioners to convince them of the value of novel devices. Accordingly, only large and established market participants can attempt to introduce emerging technologies in the market.
"Vendors need to come together and promote cooperation over competition," said Ajay. "There needs to be a consensus with regards to the wireless models required, interoperability issues and security standards that should be used in these devices."
Source: Frost & Sullivan.