Originally Published MPMN November 2001

INDUSTRY NEWS

Code Blue Communications Brings Bluetooth to Medical Markets

An interface device developer has gained exclusive rights to distribute connectBlue (Malmö, Sweden; www.connectblue.se) Bluetooth products to the North American medical industry. Specializing in the development of integrated solutions for healthcare markets, Code Blue Communications Inc. (Seattle; www.codebluecommunications.com) is adding these products to its own line of devices that eliminate the need for electronic cables. The Bluetooth products are suited for battery-operated devices and offer many advantages, including an operating range of 10 m. "These products have low power requirements and ease the establishment of piconets [a network of devices using Bluetooth technology]," adds Code Blue Communications' president Bill Saltzstein. Some possible medical applications include portable monitors and infusion pumps.

According to company principals, the partnership between the two organizations is mutually beneficial. The medical device industry "is an untapped market in terms of Bluetooth implementations," says connectBlue president Rolf Nilson, "largely due to the lack of specialized knowledge among the Bluetooth community about the industry's requirements. Code Blue Communications has this specialized knowledge of the issues unique to the medical market." In return for this knowledge, Code Blue Communications gains access to the Swedish company's proven technology. "ConnectBlue's products have already been used successfully in industrial applications that require many of the same mission-critical performance standards as medical devices," says Saltzstein.

Zachary Turke

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