Startups launch and rumors swirl ahead of CES The International 2010 Consumer Electronics Show kicked off this week with a flurry of news, but come Saturday a portion of the CE industry’s attention will be focused on connected health devices and services at the Digital Health Summit co-located at the event. Wireless health companies have already begun making news in the New Year, including Wellcore, the Mayo Clinic, GE Healthcare and Intel and Apple.

Wellcore unveils fall detection, activity monitor One third of all people 65 years old and older fall each year and more than 300,000 hip fractures occur annually, most caused by falls, according to the Centers for Disease Control. And one in five people die within a year of breaking their hip. Devices to aid those who fall by enabling them to call for help after the fall, in other words, only work once the damage has already been done. Another shortcoming of the classic “I’ve fallen and can’t get up” pendant is that it requires the wearer to push a button to signal for help. Wellcore’s device aims to push that envelope.

LifeSync buys Motorola remote monitoring patents Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based LifeSync Holdings bought a number of medical patents from Motorola, including the Besson patent portfolio and various other Motorola patents that enable wireless monitoring of patients.

Mayo Clinic forms mRemedy mobile app start-up Mayo Clinic has partnered with smartphone application developer DoApps to form a new start-up, called mRemedy, which is focused on creating health apps for smartphones. mRemedy’s apps will be based on Mayo Clinic’s research and services. The first mRemedy app, Mayo Clinic Meditation, launched last week for Apple’s iPhone and iPod touch. The app, which teaches users relaxation and breathing techniques costs $4.95 and is based on a program created by Mayo professor Dr. Amit Sood.

Brian Dolan is editor of MobiHealthNews, the emerging wireless health industry’s daily monitor.