Dr. Wi-Fi to the Rescue

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According to Andrew Thompson, founder and CEO, 2 billion people in the world have tuberculosis. It's a curable disease, but because it's critical that patients complete their entire course of antibiotics (in order to prevent the development of drug-resistant strains), treatment requires that patients go to a physical location to receive their daily antibiotics under direct medical observation.

The Raisin system allows doctors to perform that same monitoring and verification remotely. "Tuberculosis is not a scourge in the U.S.," Thompson says, but in the developing world, Proteus' technology could bring medical treatment where it hasn't been previously available.

Personal Care and Fitness

But if you're not a heart patient, and you don't suffer from an illness that needs to be closely monitored, how can high-tech health applications help you? Through fitness monitoring and social networking, of course. Proteus Biomedical says it hopes to see its technology adopted across a range of other applications. For example, individuals could use the devices to report beneficial activities (exercising, taking medications, sleeping) and receive incentives from partners (doctors, insurance companies, social networks) with whom they share that information. (Conversely, there's also the possibility they would earn punishment for not doing so, depending on with whom they share that information!)

A larger array of companies are working in this market as well, some with less invasive technologies. FitLynxx (the tech behind the Nike/iPod integration), G2 Wireless, Lifesource, and others are developing scales, blood pressure monitors, refrigerators, fitness gear, and other devices equipped with low-power Wi-Fi for monitoring health and fitness.

And of course, don't forget your iPhone. With its acceleromater, Wi-Fi signal, and GPS, it has lots of potential to join in the fun, and many apps exist that use those tools for health and fitness purposes. Don't think that counts as a medical device? Try again. The FDA has recently hinted that it could start regulating health-related iPhone apps.

Provided by GigaOm—