MASSDEVICE ON CALL — Federal officials this week will vote on a measure that aims to set aside a key radio spectrum for use by medical devices.
If approved, the radio spectrum will be designated for devices employing "mobile body area networks," using wireless communication to allow multiple devices to communicate within and around the body.
The technology may be used for products that continuously monitor vital signs, potentially doing away with the web of cords and wires that generally accompanies hospital care.
The spectrum in question ranges from 2.36 GHz to 2.4 GHz, and would be shared with aerospace manufacturers and the government, which currently uses the spectrum to test aircraft and missiles, GovHealthIT.com reported. The vote is set for May 24.
Device makers won another key radio radio spectrum late last year, between 413 mHz and 457 mHz, for use in Medical Micropower Networks that transmit radio signals among multiple microstimulators implanted in the body to activate and monitor nerves and muscles with electrical signals.
Such devices could help patients regain functionality and sensation in paralyzed limbs, Alfred Mann Foundation CEO David Hankin told MassDevice.com late last year.
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