Google entered into a cloud computing deal with Flex, an electronics manufacturer that builds parts for a number of gadgets, including medical devices, according to Business Insider.
As part of the agreement, Flex will be both a Google Cloud customer and a partner. It recently developed the BrightInsight platform, which is built on the Google Cloud but sold to device manufacturers by Flex. BrightInsight looks to connect device manufacturers' products to each other and to the internet.
BrightInsight's ultimate goal is to create a easy, standardized way for medical devices — like insulin pumps and pacemakers — to upload data online for analysis, since much of it currently goes to waste.
Physicians operate in a "world of ignorance," Kal Patel, MD, Flex's senior vice president of digital health, told Business Insider, because they much of their technologies can't spit back detailed analytical reports. "As these devices go from being dumb to smart, they need to connect," he said.
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