News, Analysis, Trends, Management Innovations for
Clinical Laboratories and Pathology Groups
Hosted by Robert Michel

News, Analysis, Trends, Management Innovations for
Clinical Laboratories and Pathology Groups
Hosted by Robert Michel
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Implantable Wireless Heart Failure Management System Significantly Reduces Hospital Readmissions and May Inspire Implantable Diagnostic Test Devices

Mar 18, 2015 | Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory Instruments & Laboratory Equipment, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology

Implantable devices with this technology could be designed to perform some of the same kinds of assays currently handled in medical labs

Implantable diagnostic devices that report results wirelessly to patients’ physicians could be both a threat and an opportunity for clinical laboratories and pathology groups. News of clearance by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of an implantable monitoring device for home use by heart patients demonstrates that such technology is improving with rapid speed.

Could Implantable Monitoring Devices Replace Some Medical Lab Tests?

Patients use CardioMEMS from the comfort of their homes. The implantable monitoring device measures pulmonary artery pressures and heart rates and transmits that data wirelessly to physicians. It was last summer when the FDA cleared the CardioMEMS Heart Failure Management System, manufactured by St. Jude Medical of St. Paul, MN. Such implantable technology could eventually perform certain assays currently handled in medical laboratories. (more…)

Physicians Use Fitness Trackers to Monitor Patients in Real-time, Even as Developers Work to Incorporate Medical Laboratory Tests into the Devices

May 28, 2014 | Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory Instruments & Laboratory Equipment, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology

Pathologists and clinical laboratory managers can expect that physicians will want to incorporate digital remote patient monitoring into their clinical practices

Swift advances in technology devoted to fitness-tracking devices used by consumers are creating opportunities for physicians to tap that data to remotely monitor their patients. These pioneering efforts show how even medical laboratory testing functions might eventually be incorporated in these fitness tracking products.

Of course, these devices were created for non-clinical functions. But they do allow doctors to get real-time looks at a patient’s vital signs outside of the traditional office visit. Using these consumer electronic devices for medical purposes is part of the larger trend of marshalling technology to produce better patient outcomes and reduce healthcare costs. (more…)

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