Printer Friendly
The Free Library
14,530,717 articles and books
Member login
User name  
Password 
 
Join us Forgot password?

FitSense(TM) Poised to Capitalize on Healthcare Reform; Builds Personal Health Data Pipeline.


SOUTHBOROUGH, Mass. -- We are not going to wake up one day and find that the healthcare crisis has been solved overnight. It is going to happen gradually, over time, and we will have to leave it to the historians to explain how it all happened, how all of the technology coalesced co·a·lesce  
intr.v. co·a·lesced, co·a·lesc·ing, co·a·lesc·es
1. To grow together; fuse.

2. To come together so as to form one whole; unite:
, how all of the forces converged, and how everything got fixed. With the release of Michael Porter's new book, "Redefining Health Care: Creating Value-Based Competition on Results," this process may actually move forward in a noticeable way.

The book title says it all: Porter has written, essentially, that the only way for healthcare to change is for all of the competing stakeholders Stakeholders

All parties that have an interest, financial or otherwise, in a firm-stockholders, creditors, bondholders, employees, customers, management, the community, and the government.
 to stop competing with each other and compete, instead, to provide value (positive outcomes) for the end users, the patients.

Porter is extremely influential, so it will be interesting to see what happens. Whether it all happens exactly in the ways that Porter and co-author Elizabeth Olmstead Teisberg lay out in the book, one thing is certain: those companies that provide the infrastructure that will help document patient needs and outcomes will benefit greatly over the coming years.

FitSense Technology(R), Inc. is one of those companies. Since 1997, the Southborough, Massachusetts Southborough is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 8,781 at the 2000 census. Like several neighboring "boro" towns, the spelling of its name is often abbreviated to Southboro.  high-tech firm has been quietly working behind the scenes, developing its pervasive computing Refers to the use of computers in everyday life, including PDAs, smartphones and other mobile devices. It also refers to computers contained in commonplace objects such as cars and appliances and implies that people are unaware of their presence.  and intelligent sensor An intelligent sensor takes some predefined action when it senses the appropriate input (light, heat, sound, motion, touch, etc.). Description
The sensor has to do the following tasks:
  • Give a digital signal.
  • Be able to communicate the signal.
 systems, and working on research projects in order to perfect their product. With their recently formed partnerships with Joslin Diabetes Center Joslin Diabetes Center is the world’s largest and most respected diabetes research center, diabetes clinic, and provider of diabetes education. It is located in the Longwood Medical and Academic Area in Boston, Massachusetts.  in Boston, Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield Blue Shield A US not-for-profit health care insurer that is a reimbursement intermediary for physicians. Cf Blue Cross.  of New Jersey in Newark, and most recently with the National Jewish Medical and Research Center National Jewish Medical and Research Center is a research institute located in Denver, Colorado specializing in respiratory, immune and allergic research and treatment. It was founded in 1899 to treat tuberculosis, and is today considered one of the world's best medical research  in cooperation with Kaiser Permanente Kaiser Permanente is an integrated managed care organization, based in Oakland, California, founded in 1945 by industrialist Henry J. Kaiser and physician Sidney R. Garfield. .

"We've ridden it out," says FitSense CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board.  Thomas Blackadar, "and we're poised to capitalize on Cap´i`tal`ize on`   

v. t. 1. To turn (an opportunity) to one's advantage; to take advantage of (a situation); to profit from; as, to capitalize on an opponent's mistakes s>.
 what we have built over the last nine years with our ActiHealth(TM) network."

FitSense has essentially built the pipeline through which all health data -- transmitted from people to computers -- will pass. FitSense is the gatekeeper, organizing and validating all the data.

If your company builds products that require the biometric data picked up from the bodies of individuals be transmitted to computers and servers in order to be analyzed, FitSense is there to move the data.

Blackadar has seen a lot of gadgets and systems and products come and go over the last nine years. "The challenge for these companies is the power management and cost of these devices," says Blackadar.

"To make them wearable and user-friendly, they need to be small enough to be unobtrusive and last long enough that you don't have to change the batteries. Once a user has to change a battery or recharge it, they put the broken gadget in the sock drawer and the continuum of care is broken."

"Of course the gadget has to be priced right," concludes Blackadar.

FitSense's patented, low-power, wireless-network technology enables its devices to run off a coin-cell battery like the ones found in watches. These devices last for two years and sell at price points under $50 per user.

FitSense Technology's wearable and portable monitoring system provides the timely motivational feedback to change personal behavior. This wireless system effortlessly collects and transports personal health data that can be viewed instantly by the user as they go through their day. In the ActiHealth network, the body sensors accurately monitor physical activity, calorie burn, weight, body fat, blood pressure, blood glucose blood glucose Diabetology The principal sugar produced by the body from food–especially carbohydrates, but also from proteins and fats; glucose is the body's major source of energy, is transported to cells via the circulation and used by cells in the presence , heart rate and more.

About FitSense:

FitSense Technology, Inc., based in Southborough, Massachusetts, is a world leader in wireless health monitoring solutions. The company's ActiHealth network seamlessly connects wearable and portable body sensors and feedback devices. FitSense systems have been deployed from clinical research environments to roadways, on battlefields and in outer space. FitSense continues to lead the charge into the use of pervasive computing and intelligent sensor systems to improve the quality of healthcare and reduce its costs. For more information, please visit www.fitsense.com.

FitSense Technology, FitSense, the FitSense Logo and ActiHealth are registered trademarks of FitSense Technology, Inc.

(C) 2006, FitSense Technology, Inc.
COPYRIGHT 2006 Business Wire
No portion of this article can be reproduced without the express written permission from the copyright holder.
Copyright 2006, Gale Group. All rights reserved. Gale Group is a Thomson Corporation Company.

 Reader Opinion

Title:

Comment:



 

Article Details
Printer friendly Cite/link Email Feedback
Publication:Business Wire
Date:Jun 27, 2006
Words:664
Previous Article:Ascendia Brands Announces Relaunch of Baby Magic Baby(R) Toiletries; Company Significantly Extends Product Offering and Introduces New Value-Sizes.
Next Article:City of San Diego Breaks New Ground in Physical Security by Installing Cernium(R) Intelligent Video Analytics System to Protect Critical...
Topics:



Related Articles
NIC reveals trends for senior living industry. (third annual National Investment Conference for Senior Living and Long Term Care Industries)
WebMD and Lycos Announce $52 Million Internet and On-Air Healthcare Alliance; WebMD to be Exclusive Healthcare Content and Services Provider Across...
HEALTHEON OFFERS INFORMATION ON MEDICATIONS OVER THE INTERNET.
MEDecision Announces Expansion of CollaboraCare Consortium; Consortium's First Project - Integration of Personal Health Records with MEDecision's...
Initiate Systems to Preview New Software, Demonstrate RHIO Interoperability, Present on Accurate Patient ID at HIMSS; Participation Furthers...
CapMed Announces Collaboration with SureScripts(R) to Enable Patients to Retrieve Medication History.
Diagnosis: expect growth spurt: Poland leads health insurance modernization among the former Soviet satellite states.
Baby Boomers Need Health & Fitness Toys Tied Together in a Nice Simple Package; We're Almost There!
FitSense Technology Puts Personal Health Data On The Move; Ultra Low-Power Wireless Module Enables Personal Health Devices.
EncounterCare Solutions, Inc. Launches Its Private Label HIPAA Compliant Electronic Medical Data Exchange.

Terms of use | Copyright © 2009 Farlex, Inc. | Feedback | For webmasters | Submit articles