GE
Healthcare (NYSE: GE) and Royal
Philips Electronics (AEX: PHI, NYSE: PHG) applaud the Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) today for its action allocating
protected spectrum for wireless medical devices, called Medical Body
Area Networks (MBANs), which could revolutionize the way patients are
monitored and help eliminate the restrictive cables that tether patients
to hospital beds. MBANs—small, wearable wireless sensors that capture
patient vital signs—could help extend care anywhere throughout the
hospital or even remotely in the home. By providing access to spectrum
that is free of transmissions from WiFi and other ubiquitous
high-powered consumer devices, the FCC’s ruling is a key enabler for
MBANs.
Today, nearly all patient monitors are connected to patients via cables.
By eliminating these wires, MBANs could help patients be more mobile,
which may contribute to improved patient outcomes and recovery, and
enhance their overall comfort. Small, wearable sensors could collect
real-time clinical information such as temperature and respiratory
function, and aggregate it at a nearby device for local processing and
forwarding to centralized displays and electronic medical records.
“MBANs represent the next evolution in monitoring a patient’s health
status,” said Dr. Richard Katz, Director, Division of Cardiology,
Bloedorn Professor of Medicine, The George Washington University
Hospital.