In years gone by, many people viewed digital implant devices with a lot of Big-Brother-ish apprehension. However, with medical devices and monitoring products becoming smaller and more efficient every year, it was really only a matter of time until we got to this point. And strangely enough, I’m excited about it. Take, for example, one of the latest products from CarioMem- an implantable device for monitoring of blood pressure inside aortic aneurysms. Think about the improved peace of mind from anybody who has one of those working in their favor? Well, it gets even better.
According to a post from MedGadget, one of the best online resources for news and analysis on medical technologies, CardioMem is reporting that they have a device similar to the one mentioned above, but this one is implanted into your wrist and wirelessly monitors your blood pressure. According to the post from MedGadget, “the sensor is designed to allow for a precise and accurate measurement of systemic blood pressure using the CardioMems proprietary electronics module.” Additionally the post also reports that, “following the procedure, the sensor and electronics are designed to allow for additional blood pressure measurements to be taken by the patients at home and to transmit the data wirelessly to a secure database where it will become available for review on CardioMems’ patient management website.”
The new technology is going to be marketed chiefly towards the treatment of Hypertension. The initial three test patients were all sufferers of severe hypertension. The actual study itself was conducted in Chile by several cardio-thoracic surgeons. The Medgadget post also spoke to the CEO of CardioMem, Jay S. Yaday, who stated that “we believe that this is the first instance of a wireless sensor being used to monitor blood pressure for the management of severe hypertension.”
Granted, widespread adoption of this technology, by the general populace, is surely a long way off. Although one is forced to admit that this represents a really big step in the future of medical implants and wireless heart monitoring devices. These types of implants can seem like a drastic step in treatment to some people, but rest assured that they are definitely necessary.
