MIT Researchers Team Up With Industry Experts to Bring Healthcare Devices Home

With the increasing use of mobile phones and tablets in the medical industry, there is also an increased opportunity to develop new telehealth-related technologies for portable medical devices. In light of this potential, equipment supplier Analog Devices Inc. (Norwood, MA), which specializes in semiconductors for signal-processing applications, announced a collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT; Cambridge, MA) to research and develop technologies for next-generation remote patient-monitoring devices.

"Thanks to modern technology, medical devices that once were found only in a hospital or doctor's office are finding their way in different form factors into our homes," says Patrick O'Doherty, vice president, healthcare group, Analog Devices. "Analog Devices is excited to work with MIT on researching new technologies that further the movement of bringing technology into the home and enable medical devices companies to design the next generation of portable, affordable, and reliable patient-monitoring systems."

Analog Devices isn't the only company that has the opportunity to benefit from the great minds at MIT, however. In order to accommodate the increase of collaborations between the microelectronics industry and medical devices, MIT created a new Medical Electronic Device Realization Center (MEDRC). At the center, MIT research scientists will work side by side with medical device industry leaders to develop new technologies for portable devices used in a patient's home.

While Analog Devices is working on devices that can check vital signs such as blood pressure, heart, and respiratory rates, GE Global Research also announced its involvement in one of the first MEDRC projects. GE researchers from the Ultrasound Lab at GE Global Research will work with MIT researchers to develop a more intelligent ultrasound probe and system. Taking advantage of advances in medical electronics and computing power, GE is working to simplify ultrasound measurements, improve the quality, and add to diagnostic capabilities of ultrasound imaging.

The MEDRC center combines research on technology scaling, analog and mixed-signal design, and product and system design. According to its Web site, the MEDRC aims to serve as a focal point for large business, venture-funded startups, and the medical community. The MEDRC will foster innovations in the usability and productivity of medical devices as well as new technologies and approaches to manufacture devices, all with the goal of reducing healthcare costs in both the developed and developing world.

"Moving patient care into the home marks a radical change in how healthcare is delivered and innovative medical devices are essential to making this important shift possible," says Charles Sodini, MIT professor and cofounder of the MEDRC. "The goal of our research with ADI is to provide medical device companies with the technology necessary to create continuous vital signs monitoring systems that improve the lives of patients throughout the world." --Kate Dixon