Cellular Wireless technology: Creating a link between people and the healthcare community

Cellular Wireless technology: Creating a link between people and the healthcare community

Introduction Demands on health-care systems worldwide have increased to the point where the delivery and cost of medical treatment has become a critical global issue. Global demographics are changing. An increasing population over 65 years of age and an increasingly sedentary lifestyle in many countries has the potential to lead to a huge increase in long-term patients with one or more chronic diseases. Based on the current situation worldwide, more than 300 million people suffer from obesity, 600 million from chronic disease, and 500 million from aging. When the cost of medication adherence is factored in, this accounts for more than $300 billion in expenditures. (Source: World Health Organization) Most national health-care budgets are already under tight financial constraints, and many governments are looking to stabilize them. The additional demands that an aging population will impose are simply unsustainable using current practices. Transforming the treatment and management of chronic diseases and increasing medical compliance for millions of people will be the key to controlling costs and increasing the quality of medical service worldwide. Adoption of new technologies to transfer patient information can enable patients with chronic illnesses to connect with ease to their caregivers, which can ultimately improve quality of care. An example of a technology is cellular embedded wireless modules that can build a bridge between home and hospital through: Remote monitoring of patients with implantable devices Remote treatment of chronic disease Wellness and preventive medicinal solutions Telemedicine services for patients and professionals Medical data on web-based platforms Integrating cellular embedded modules into overall technology solutions used in the healthcare system will enable faster exchanges of health related information. This seamless and 2

secure transmission of information from health care professional to hospital, care facility or even patient may reduce health expenditures and may provide opportunities for home care in the future. Market Opportunities Medical Monitoring / Information Transfer Wireless technology ensures a highly reliable connection so health-care practitioners can transfer proprietary medical documents and information securely and efficiently from wherever they are working. Currently, according to the different stages of healthcare management, the majority of wireless opportunities (~65%) fall into the monitoring category rather than treatment or diagnosis. (Source: GSMA) With monitoring, the health devices market falls into three main categories: General health refers to the use of devices mainly by the elderly population to monitor their daily vital statistics which are conveyed to a service platform that can be accessed by care providers or other family members. Chronic disease relates primarily to the monitoring of chronic conditions, general body vitals or medicine intake compliance while away from the hospital or institutional environment. Quantified self help refers to devices with sensors providing real-time results to analyze and ultimately improve an individual s health and well being. Wireless highperformance equipment can enhance the training experience for both professional athletes and health enthusiasts. In cellular wireless health care, security for transferring sensitive private information is performed by using a combination of different features available on the cellular embedded wireless module, providing endpoint authentication and communication confidentiality over networks. Cellular encryption technology, communication protocols used for the Internet and other similar networks (TCP/IP stack), cryptographic protocols at the transport layer (SSL), and virtual private networks (VPN) all make data travelling over the network seamless and secure. 3

Medical applications are numerous (diabetes monitoring, heart monitoring, hypertension, sleep disorders, ultrasound exams, MRI) and can vary from a few kilobytes in size to very large files. As a result, knowledge and information transfer in some medical applications require high-speed broadband capability and quality of services enabled through cellular technology. In addition, the need to deploy cellular wireless medical terminals in most countries around the world means a need to exchange data on numerous types of networks, including GPRS, EDGE, CDMA, WCDMA, TD-SCDMA and HSPA. US Market As noted earlier, healthcare costs are growing at an alarming rate, growing consistently faster than income in most countries in the world. The US market in particular stands out with its healthcare spending comprising approximately 17% of GDP, the highest in the world. 4

In the face of these staggering cost challenges, the US has become more aggressive in supporting new technologies to reduce health spending. These include support for remote monitoring technologies that can help reduce hospital re-admissions as well as implementing preventive measures by being able to identify health issues earlier. Naturally, with this push towards more innovative solutions, the US market has shown to have the highest revenue potential in mobile health spending, expected to hit $17.7billion USD by the end of 2017. Source: PWC 2013 OEM Requirements At the design conception stage, it is very important for the medical terminal/device maker to have an embedded wireless module portfolio solution. Devices in this portfolio should support various network and wireless technologies, and should be adaptable to medical 5

applications without requiring changes to the mechanical platform or the electronic/ software interface. In addition, the ability for the embedded module to connect to a device management cloud platform is also important for device longevity, especially if there will be a large number of devices, that need to be managed remotely in the field and reducing operational costs is a concern. The result is development and operational cost savings, significantly lower certification costs, and reduced time to market. Minimizing the changes brings additional control on performance monitoring, especially on the radio behavior and medical application. In addition, an embedded cellular wireless module solution eliminates the complexity that is associated with fixed line networks and short range technologies such as Bluetooth. With cellular connectivity, the target demographic is expanded to include those with different levels of technological knowledge, enhancing the usability of the healthcare device which increases usage and compliance. Integrating embedded cellular wireless modules into healthcare monitoring devices allows each individual the comfort of being virtually attached to his physician or care provider to communicate: Real-time transmission of testing results Real-time feedback on health issues The ability to identify urgent problems and respond in real time The ability to identify and reach out to those not complying with care 6

Caregiver s alert for out of range values and non-compliance of patient profile Data transmitted to the server Care case management server customized feedback Caregiver s diagnostic and emergency actions to avoid health crisis The diagram above outlines information transfer between Healthcare professional and patient over a wide area wireless connection. The ability to transmit and monitor health and vital sign information wirelessly over a cellular network allows medical practitioners and caregivers immediate access to up-to-date health information. For long-term treatment of chronic diseases, physicians can monitor patient data in real time enabling immediate understanding of the patient s condition, thereby providing better treatment. This allows a more efficient way to: Manage chronic diseases Prioritize care between several patients Identify timely intervention for individuals React immediately, thereby avoiding a potential health crisis requiring costly hospitalization 7

For wellness and fitness, caregivers and active individuals are able to identify: Time of day that an elderly family member has taken their medication and whether they have missed medication intake Provide calories burned for activities to support individuals fitness goals Locate individuals who suffer from Alzheimer s or ADHD disorders through the embedded module GPS capability There is increasing demand for wireless embedded technology in medical devices. Medical equipment capabilities are improving, and there is opportunity for remote monitoring and management. The ability to remotely upgrade the medical product through device management cloud platforms not only adds value to the product, but also translates into operating cost saving and improved quality of service for both the patient and the caregiver. A medical device management solution with embedded cellular wireless technology connected to a back-end server offers a turn-key solution that enables remote monitoring and secure software upgrades for devices in the field. Conclusion Cellular wireless technology can have a significant impact on efficiencies within an increasingly stressed health-care system. Embedding cellular wireless modules in medical devices improves efficiencies around healthcare information management in many ways and enables medical practitioners and individual caregivers to transform the way they transfer and share critical and non-critical health information. For more information about Healthcare solutions, please contact healthcare@sierrawireless.com About Sierra Wireless Sierra Wireless is the global leader in machine-to-machine (M2M) devices and cloud services, delivering intelligent wireless solutions that simplify the connected world. Our solutions are simple, scalable, and secure, and enable customers to get their connected products and services to market faster. For further company and product information, please visit www.sierrawireless.com. 8