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Medgadget Exclusive: Interview about the Healthbots

Shiv Gaglani — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 19:23:03 +0000

We are only two months into 2012 and it’s clear that the Quantified Self movement is increasingly gaining traction. More devices are emerging to help people quantify everything from anxiety to weight, and blood glucose to sleep patterns. But what about people who cannot use the devices or are not ambulatory themselves?

A team led by Professor Bruce MacDonald at the University of Auckland in New Zealand has been working to create a corp of medical robots – Healthbots – to help these people. Medgadget had the opportunity to interview Professor MacDonald about the Healthbots, what they do, and when we can expect to see them available to help those in need.

Interview with QuantiaMD, the Largest Online Network of Physicians

Shiv Gaglani — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 18:51:35 +0000

Given all of the recent media buzz surrounding Facebook – the Emperor of all Social Networks – we at Medgadget wanted to reflect some of that light onto the social networks that are most influencing medicine today. One such network is QuantiaMD, whose membership exceeds 150,000 physicians, according to the company, or one in five in the US!

We have previously covered two apps developed by the company: DiabetesIQ and Pri-Med. This editor first met up with QuantiaMD’s CEO, Eric Schultz, and Chief Communications Officer, Mary Modahl, at the mHealth Summit and just touched base again to produce the interview below.

Patient Advocate on Quest to Get Data from His Implantable Defibrillator

Brian Klein — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 17:17:39 +0000

Venture Beat recently named the “Quantified Self” movement as a top trend for 2012. That publication defined the movement as “self-knowledge through numbers” and cited a number of gadgets that enable their users to quantify everyday activities such as workouts, sleep, heart rate, and galvanic skin response.

Hugo Campos is a proponent of this movement: He uses a FitBit device to keep track of his daily activity level, a Withings blood pressure monitor, a WiFi scale, and a Zeo sleep monitor. He cannot, however, access the data in his implantable cardiac defibrillator (ICD) because such data is off limits to patients. The data from his ICD can, however, be accessed by his physician and the device’s manufacturer.

Stanford Partners with FDA to Improve Pre-Market Approval Process

Gene Ostrovsky — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 19:43:44 +0000

Stanford’s decade old biodesign program is partnering up with FDA Center for Devices and Radiological Health to help the agency adapt the way it screens new medical technologies.

The parties have reached a “memorandum of understanding,” rather than a formal agreement to specific projects, but the framework creates a method by which cooperation can now take place.

FDA Issues Guidance to Companies Seeking Approval for Artificial Pancreas System

Gene Ostrovsky — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 18:36:36 +0000

The FDA has issued draft guidance to companies that are looking to submit an Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) or premarket approval (PMA) application for an Artificial Pancreas Device System that would be used by patients at home.

The document explains how one should go about proving the safety and effectiveness of an artificial pancreas, although the guidance is clear that these are simply recommendations and that “the word should in Agency guidances means that something is suggested or recommended, but not required.”

FDA Releases Blueprint for “Driving Biomedical Innovation”

Shiv Gaglani — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 19:10:17 +0000

A report just released by the Commissioner of the Food & Drug Administration (FDA), Dr. Margaret Hamburg, aims to provide immediate steps to quicken biomedical innovation.

Entitled “Driving Biomedical Innovation: Initiatives to Improve Products for Patients,” the 37-page blueprint briefly touches upon a number of important topics, including how to build the infrastructure to drive and support personalized medicine as well as what the FDA anticipates to be the future of medical devices (e.g. in terms of regulation).

Successful Remote Hacking Reported of Insulin Pump, Glucose Meters

Shiv Gaglani — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 15:54:42 +0000

Though most would agree that the digitization of our daily lives has overall been positive, there remains the persistent danger posed by hackers. This risk has ranged from the fairly innocuous (e-mail or Facebook spammers) to the financially ruinous (online bank account and credit card theft), and sometimes even to seizure inducing. However, with the digitization of medical devices – a trend that often awes us by its potential to improve healthcare delivery – the danger associated with hacking may now even be deadly.

At last week’s Black Hat Technical Security Conference, computer security expert and type 1 diabetic Jerome Radcliffe gave a presentation in which he described how he was able to remotely interfere with his own insulin pump and glucose meter.

Institute of Medicine to Release Controversial Report on Medical Device Approval on Friday

Shiv Gaglani — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 16:46:56 +0000

The New York Times just recently broke news of the coming controversy surrounding an Institute of Medicine report on the medical device industry that will be released this Friday.

Commissioned by the Food & Drug Administration in response to the apparent increase in medical device recalls due to failures and patient injuries over recent years, the report is expected to propose more stringent industry-wide regulations such as tougher approval processes for devices such as defibrillators, hip implants, and hospital pumps. The specific focus of the report is on the 510(k) Medical Device Clearance Process.

FDA to Exercise Its Muscle in the Mobile App Arena

Smit Shah — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 17:55:45 +0000

Medical applications have played a significant role in the rapid adoption of smartphones and tablets, but to date, we’ve only covered two apps which were reviewed by the FDA prior to their public release (Mobile MIM, pictured, and AirStrip). However, the FDA announced yesterday that it plans to regulate mobile apps which would be used by doctors to diagnose or monitor their patients. The FDA released draft guidelines on its website and will be taking comments for the next 3 months.

Jawbone’s “Up” Fashionably Inspires People to Live Healthier Lives

Scott Jung — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 17:05:41 +0000

Research has shown that eating healthier, getting quality sleep, and moving more can reduce the risk and even prevent lifestyle diseases such as heart disease and diabetes. However, according to mobile accessory manufacturer Jawbone, healthier living doesn’t have to be dull and tedious.

This week at TEDGlobal, Jawbone, the company known for their high-end Bluetooth headsets, announced a new system that they hope will revolutionize the way global health issues are approached. Known as “Up”, the system consists of a stylish wristband containing sensors that can track your movement and sleep patterns and monitor your activity 24/7. The system also includes a mobile app that syncs and analyzes data from the wristband, tracks your nutrition habits, gives you personalized advice based on your results, and helps you set lifestyle goals to improve your overall well being.