US FDA has 200 million dollars in grant money for connected medical devices…

One of the things that I have talked about is the reality of connection and the growing reality of connected medical devices. The US Government, in particular, the Food and Drug Administration (the FDA) has announced a 200 million dollar grant fro Connected Medical Devices. There are many types of connected medical devices and two distinct types of connections. The first connection is between the device and a computer or smartphone/tablet. The other is a c connection to your medical professional.  Due to the pandemic situation, several methods are attractive now. I have talked about the concept of smart thermometers. (Kinsahealth.co). These are useful as they track your temperature over as long as you want.

But there are many more interesting connected devices. I got a test version of a product called EKO about a month ago. EKO is a digital stethoscope. Yes, it is cold. It is digital, however, and allows you to watch your heart rate for changes. You can then choose to share or not to share that information with your doctor. If you have a heart issue, I suspect you would share that data right away. The exciting thing about that 200 million dollar fund is the number of devices that could be created. The reason the FDA has issued the grant challenge is to help medical startups get off the ground in terms of funding. That got me thinking about ways to make these devices smarter.

I like smart devices! One of the things I would think was interesting was a hat that stored information from medical devices and then shared that with your doctor when you visited.  It is my strange idea, I realize, but it would be fun anyway if you have a great idea for ways to do better medical devices. Someday perhaps there will be an illness sensor. Whatever you are suspectable to your device broadcasts. Anyone carrying that illness will have their device flash red, and you stay away! I know another strange idea. I wonder, 100 years from now when they look back at today, will today be the beginning of a better human experience by connected medical or will they laugh and say, “they didn’t even know that the person next to them was sick!”