Thursday, July 12, 2007

MedApps D-PAL™ Remote Patient Monitoring System for Diabetes

Filed under: Telemedicine

A wireless system to transmit daily glucose readings from a patient's glucometer via cellphone into a central server, developed by a Scottsdale, Arizona startup MedApps, Inc., has been approved by the FDA for for over-the-counter use. We have briefly mentioned this system about a year ago.

Here's how this telemedicine system works:

D-PAL currently combines with the Polymap Polytel(R) device which connects to the LifeScan(R) OneTouch(R) Ultra(R) and sends the data via Bluetooth(R) (wireless) to the patient's cell phone (acting as a "Hub") and transmits the information to the central server in near real-time. D-PAL is the first of a series of medical devices that integrates with the MedApps System and enables patients with chronic diseases to lead more active lifestyles. Additional integrated devices will include scales, blood pressure monitors, spirometers, pulse oximeters, ECG, and a variety of implantable devices such as pacemakers.

Pre-established thresholds are set for each patient by their healthcare provider(s). When a reading occurs outside of these thresholds, an alert may occur and the patient may be contacted using a pre-determined mode. One
such mode is an interactive voice response system which can qualify additional behavioral information by asking questions such as, "Have you exercised today?" or "Have you taken your medication?" The responses to these questions, combined with previously collected biometric data, can give healthcare professionals greater insight into a patient's health.

The MedApps Telemedicine 2.0 Wireless System, allows medical providers to monitor trends in their patients' health with accurate, timely readings. Healthcare professionals and patient management companies have greater accessibility to better information and no longer have to rely on patients to submit their own readings, while the patient, in turn, is encouraged to live a more active lifestyle. As patients lose mobility, they must curtail daily activities, in essence giving "control" of their lives to their disease. This loss of control signals a downward spiral toward immobilization, inpatient encounters, and costly ER visits. MedApps helps stabilize patient treatments, allows timely interventions, and gives patients more control over their diseases.

Press release (.pdf)...

Product page: MedApps D-PAL™ Remote Patient Monitoring System...

Flashbacks: Let Your Cellphone Monitor, Transfer Your Vitals & More ; Wireless Monitoring of Diabetics

(hat tip: The Medical Quack)

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