Medical device maker Masimo (NSDQ:MASI) today unveiled its iSpO2, a novel pulse oximetry system for use with iPods, iPhones and iPads, the company’s 1st consumer-marketed product.
Patients can use the iSpO2 device to measure blood oxygenation, pulse rate and a perfusion index using a finger sensor and a cable that connects to their mobile devices.
The Irvine, Calif.-based medical device company is the 1st to bring an iOS-friendly pulse oximetry system to the market, using technology from its existing line of pulse oximeters and CO-Oximeters used in clinical settings.
The iSpO2 system is not yet cleared for medical use, but Masimo has a professional version of the system undergoing CE Mark review in the European Union as well as 510(k) clearance in the U.S., according to a statement sent to MassDevice.com today.
"Masimo was founded on a mission to take noninvasive monitoring to new sites and applications," Masimo founder & CEO Joe Kiani said in prepared remarks. "The iSpO2 for iPhone, iPad or iPod touch with 30-pin connector represents our 1st consumer product and should create myriad new possibilities with the goal of further empowering people."
The device seems to fit well into Kiani’s mission to provide more healthcare data to patients. In an editorial published by MassDevice.com yesterday, he called for more transparent medical devices and healthcare systems to "empower patients and families with better information so they can make better healthcare decisions."
"When it comes to obtaining medical information from medical devices, patients are told either they need their doctor’s permission first, or the device maker that ‘controls the data’ cannot release it to the patient," Kiani wrote. "In what other aspect of society do keepers of our own information decide when and what we can see about ourselves?"
The new iSpO2 will launch today via the device’s website as well as through Amazon.
