Bluetooth SIG drafting Medical Device Profile

by Evan Blass, posted May 30th 2006 at 2:10PM

Your Bluetooth-enabled PC or handset will soon be able to do more than just stream audio and sync data, as the SIG responsible for the wireless protocol has announced a forthcoming profile that will enable pairing with health and fitness monitoring equipment. Although several proprietary monitoring solutions are already on the market, the so-called Medical Device Profile will allow third-party manufacturers to release hardware with guaranteed interoperability, which should help grow this nascent use of the technology. Scheduled for completion sometime during the first half of next year, the new profile will allow users to both track pertinent statistics on their Bluetooth devices and easily send that data to doctors, coaches, or trainers. Luckily for us heavy Bluetooth users, the profile will also be compatible with the upcoming Ultra Wideband (UWB) standard, meaning that the fitness-related bits traveling to our smartphone won't have to fight for bandwidth with the tethered GPS receiver and A2DP tunes we rock during our workouts.

[Via MedGadget]

Filed under: Wireless

Tags: bluetooth, exercise, fitness, health, medical, medical device profile, MedicalDeviceProfile, ultrawideband, uwb, wireless, wireless profiles, WirelessProfiles, working groups, WorkingGroups

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Neutral

Milos @ May 30th 2006 2:17PM

Hundreds of millions of people worldwide who suffer with chronic illnesses, from diabetes to high blood pressure and heart disease, could benefit from a Bluetooth SIG effort aimed at allowing health-related devices to work with consumer electronics products. Must that be? I think not!

Neutral

Eric @ May 30th 2006 2:18PM

How soon till someone bluejacks a pacemaker?

Neutral

dzieci @ May 30th 2006 2:25PM

who knows how much it will be cost ;)

Neutral

Tre Cool @ May 30th 2006 3:14PM

Will there be a Podcast today?

thx
Tre Cool

Neutral

anonymous for a reason @ May 30th 2006 3:55PM

The implanted devices (pacemakers and defibrillators) use RF not bluetooth.

Neutral

Eric J @ May 30th 2006 4:15PM

Ever since I heard of Bluetooth I've thought there was an application for a local Bt network between an insulin pump, a glucose monitor and perhaps a PDA-like device to perform some of the calculations to keep a diabetic in equilibrium.

Neutral

Jason @ Dec 21st 2007 5:16PM

Test

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