Opportunities for mobile communication firms in wearable electronics

Joe Thompson - 09 Sep 2009

The Vodafone Spain Foundation (FVE) is one of Vodafone's leading R&D subsidiaries and is working across several projects to develop software communication systems for the healthcare sector.

Mari Satur Torre Calero is co-developing a back-end software system for HeartCycle, a multi million EU-funded project that is creating a range of e-textile applications to monitor patients suffering from heart failure. Mobile-health of m-health (as he refers to it), is a growing market for global phone companies and tells +PE how the market could pan-out.

What are you looking to gain from your participation in HeartCycle?

'We want to help build a service to operate a medical care plan that can be integrated into people's daily routines. The user acceptance is a key to its success, so we are paying special attention to ensure it is easy to use and durable. This is a service we want to perfect and market in the future.'

How confident are you that electronic textiles can become standard equipment in healthcare?

It is difficult to say now, but that is why we are taking part in HeartCycle. There is a growing market for what we call 'ambient-assisted living technologies. We think durable, electronic, intelligent garments that monitor a range of vital health signs will be offer people continuous care at a low price point.

Can you explain the definition of m-health?

m-Health, is defined simply as the use of mobile connectivity and devices - such as personal digital assistants and mobile phones - for health services and information. m-Health is a sub-category of e-Health (the use of ICT for administering health services and information). m-Health is linked to the use of portable handheld electronics. The popularity of mobile phones will enable the delivery of a much wider range of health-related services because so many people own mobile phones and know how to operate them.

How long has FVE worked on m-health concepts?

FVE has been involved in several European projects developing wireless, wearable electronic garments since 2002. We took part in the MyHeart project, another EU-funded collaboration developing a wearable electronic shirt to monitor the heart.
Many of the partners we worked with on MyHeart are now involved in HeartCycle.

Can m-Health make a difference to the way healthcare is administered in the long run?

Yes, of course. We are convinced that it can improve the quality and consistency of healthcare in the western and developing world. The drivers are largely based on cost-savings and freeing-up global resources by encouraging patients to be responsible about self-monitoring, attending appointments and so on.