UK-based Cambridge Consultants has developed an innovative medical device concept for managing diabetes that uses NFC, the close-proximity wireless communications standard, to integrate glucometers and insulin pumps.
The prototype device, developed in conjunction with Philips, demonstrates how NFC can be exploited to simplify treatment for millions of diabetics worldwide, and could be the first of a new generation of medical devices that use close-proximity wireless communications.
The unique characteristics of NFC are used to streamline treatment, by wirelessly linking a glucometer with an insulin pump. The glucometer records the blood sugar reading and then recommends a bolus dose of insulin. If the patient accepts the dose, they simply swipe the glucometer against the insulin pump, which could be located beneath clothing, and the drug is delivered. This confirmation feature, which Cambridge Consultants dubs 'patient-in-the-loop dosing', enhances confidence and security, and allows the user to modify dosage calculations for lifestyle reasons.
Jointly developed by Philips and Sony, NFC is a combination of contactless identification and interconnection technologies that enables secure short-range communication between electronic devices via a fast and easy wireless connection. It operates in the 13.56 MHz frequency range, over a distance of typically a few centimeters and combines the functions of a contactless reader, a contactless card and peer-to-peer functionality on a single chip.
Cambridge Consultants believes that NFC adds genuine user-friendly characteristics that would inspire confidence in medical applications like this. These include a more ergonomic process with a simple user interaction, improved accuracy of dosing, data logging for compliance monitoring, and the ability to make devices much more discreet - with a major reduction in the need to handle or disturb the device.
"NFC has the potential to be a catalyst in developing the efficiency and portability of medical devices for a number of applications. It both simplifies treatment and aids patient compliance, which makes it a win-win solution for easing the treatment of many problematic medical conditions," said Richard Traherne, head of wireless communication at Cambridge Consultants.
"Initially, we're developing a device that demonstrates NFC as a way of improving the management of diabetes, but we see strong potential for the technology in a wide array of medical applications including pain relief, asthma and respiratory care, gastric electrical stimulation therapy, and treatments for congestive heart failure or urinary urge incontinence."
To drive development and adoption of NFC, Philips, Sony and Nokia have established the NFC Forum, a non-profit industry association which promotes implementation and standardisation of NFC technology to ensure interoperability between devices and services.