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Qualcomm Brings Life to the Wireless Health Care Space

Much as it did a quarter of a century ago with mobile communications, Qualcomm Inc., via its new wholly owned subsidiary Qualcomm Life, is poised to take the lead in the development of wireless health care solutions as San Diego becomes a global hub for the development of wireless health care technology.

“We believe that San Diego is fast becoming the wireless health capital of the world, with more than 3,025 wireless companies and 614 life sciences and biotech companies that call San Diego home,” Rick Valencia, vice president and general manager of Qualcomm Life said.

Qualcomm Life applies Qualcomm’s expertise in mobile communications technology to “provide innovative, wireless solutions that dramatically reduce the cost of health care, provide patients with greater access to care and help improve patients’ quality of life,” Valencia said.

“As 860 million people worldwide have at least one chronic disease, we believe that wireless health can immediately impact how we care for chronic disease patients,” he added.

Patients with such chronic diseases as diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity may benefit from using wireless health devices that continuously or periodically record their blood glucose levels, blood pressure, weight, as well as exercise and sleeping patterns.

Qualcomm Life’s first product, the 2net, is designed to collect and transmit the data with minimum patient involvement. The 2net, which resembles the wireless routers that provide Wi-Fi in homes and offices, automatically connects to a patient’s wireless medical devices and “securely synchronizes your data without your having to think about it,” said Valencia. “No pairing, synching or other home IT projects are needed to get your devices connected.”

Meets FDA Requirements

2net uploads the data to the 2net’s secure cloud-based platform that encrypts the information and makes it accessible via the Internet only to the patient and physician.

Both the 2net hub and platform meet requirements of the Food and Drug Administration’s Class I Medical Device Data Systems, Valencia noted and added that this classification is “important to our customers.”

The easy availability of such patient data between doctor’s visits could alert a physician that a patient’s type 2 diabetes is worsening, a congestive heart disease patient is gaining weight, which is an indicator of life-threatening fluid retention in the lungs, or a patient has stopped taking the prescribed blood pressure medication.

Since the physician provides the 2net hub along with the mobile health device, the patient does not have to pay for the Qualcomm Life product. Qualcomm Life’s revenues come from manufacturers of the devices that are paired with the 2net hub.

Joseph Smith, M.D., Ph.D., chief medical and science officer at the San Diego-based West Wireless Health Institute, commented, “We’re excited to see San Diego’s continued leadership in groundbreaking areas like the cross-pollination of wireless and health care. Qualcomm Life is another example of the innovative technology synergies we live and breathe here every day.”

Anticipating European Launch

During the six months since Qualcomm Life’s launch, over 100 customers and collaborators have signed up, according to Valencia. “We anticipate our launch in Europe during the second half of this year.”

In San Diego, Qualcomm Life is working with Rady Children’s Hospital, Sharp HealthCare, Scripps Health and UC San Diego Health System, Valencia said.

Qualcomm Life also provides “varying degrees of support to a long list of San Diego startups,” he added. They include Independa Inc., Great Connection Inc., and Entra Health Systems LLC. “We have several other local collaborations that we are currently pursuing but aren’t yet public,” he noted.

In addition, the new Qualcomm Life Fund has invested in six wireless health companies including San Diego-based Sotera Wireless Inc. Earlier this year through the Qualcomm Foundation, the company initiated the Qualcomm Tricorder X PRIZE, a $10 million global competition. The winner will be the team whose technology most accurately diagnoses a set of diseases independent of a health care professional or facility, and that provides the best consumer user experience with a device.

Cathy Yarbrough is a freelance writer for the San Diego Business Journal.

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