A striking data point in the healthcare policy debate: In 2009 our country spent more than 50% of the $2.5 trillion in healthcare expenditures for things related to hospital care and physician clinical services (this comes from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services). Next generation patient monitoring devices provide a tech driven promise to dimish these costs by shortening the length of hospital stays and reducing doctor visit frequency for routine checkups. In line with this, Norwood based Analog Devices (NYSE: ADI) has teamed up with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to develop next generation medical technologies.
Analog Devices is a global engineering leader in the development of semi-conductor chips used in all sorts of electronics. The company employs 8,900 people worldwide, pushing $2.8 billion in revenue last year. The company has 60,000 customers, from those in the communications sector to those in the military and medical fields. Founded by two MIT grads Ray Stata and Matthew Lorber in 1965, the company is going back to its roots with this partnership with the prestigious MIT and its new Medical Electronic Device Realization Center (MEDRC).
“Moving patient care into the home marks a radical change in how healthcare is delivered and innovative medical devices are essential to making this important shift possible,” said Dr. Charles Sodini, MIT professor and co-founder of the MEDRC. “The goal of our research with ADI is to provide medical device companies with the technology necessary to create continuous vital signs monitoring systems that improve the lives of patients throughout the world.”
Analog Devices already offers their customers in the healthcare sector a comprehensive portfolio of technologies for medical imaging, patient monitoring, medical instruments, and home-based healthcare. This collaboration will help the company remain at the cutting edge of this burgeoning industry.
“Thanks to modern technology, medical devices that once were found only in a hospital or doctor’s office are finding their way in different form factors into our homes,” said Patrick O’Doherty, vice president, Healthcare Group, Analog Devices. “Analog Devices is excited to work with MIT on researching new technologies that further the movement of bringing technology into the home and enable medical devices companies to design the next generation of portable, affordable and reliable patient monitoring systems.”
Through the partnership, senior Analog Devices engineers and MIT researchers will work alongside one another in “developing new technologies for portable devices that can check vital signs, such as heart rate, blood pressure, blood oxygenation and respiratory rate, in the comfort of a patient’s home.”
We look forward to following all the med tech innovations to come from the collaboration!
