Medical device connectivity takes a step forward

Continua Health Alliance, an international not-for-profit industry group, and IEEE Standards Association, the standards-setting body of IEEE, announced on November 12 that they have signed a strategic agreement to help develop standards-based technologies based on the IEEE 11073 family of standards. These standards were designed to help product vendors and integrators create interoperable devices and systems for disease management, health and fitness and independent living by bridging the gap between medical and mobile devices across the entire healthcare spectrum. The ultimate goal is to enable end-to-end, plug-and-play interoperability between all devices.

In a statement released on Tuesday, Clint McClellan, Continua Board president and chairman, said, "IEEE standards that define methods for medical devices to plug-and-play with mobile phones, home hubs and health record systems are a key component of our reference architecture defining an end-to-end, plug-and-play solution for personal connected health. In addition, IEEE-SA is the global leader in media-access device standards for the Internet. Continued development of capabilities of these standards will expand opportunities for medical device communications."