A team of electrical engineers and computer scientists at the University of Washington (Seattle) developed a more power-efficient method for implanted medical devices to send health data to smartphones, reports The Seattle Times.
Wearable medical devices cannot transmit data like most other devices since the process requires too much power. "Preserving battery life is very important in implanted medical devices, since replacing the battery in a pacemaker or brain stimulator requires surgery," said Joshua Smith, member of the project and associate professor of electrical engineering and computer science and engineering at UW.
Interscatter technology allows medical devices to pick up Bluetooth signals sent out by other devices and then convert them into Wi-Fi signals, sending back any health data from the implant. Since the devices are borrowing other signals — instead of creating their own — they save a large amount of power.
The scientists and engineers behind the Interscatter method hope to partner with medical device companies to incorporate the technology in future products.
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