Zarlink Semiconductor has announced a new application development kit to help medical customers with the design and evaluation of wireless telemetry systems. These systems are used to link implanted medical devices and home monitoring equipment.
 
"Customers are designing our wireless radio technology into approved applications, including pacemakers and implantable cardiac defibrillators, and a widening range of new devices such as cardiac monitors and neuromodulation systems," said Steve Swift, senior vice president and general manager of Zarlink's Medical Products Group.
 
The ZLE70102 ADK supports full-speed data test, link statistics, and power monitoring of end-to-end medical communications telemetry systems enabled by the ZL70102 (Medical Implant Communication Service) radio platform. Zarlink says that the kit enables the evaluation of wireless performance in a range of environments. It also allows customers to adjust algorithms to reduce overall power consumption.
 
Zarlink's radio chip sends patient health and device performance information to a home base station, which can then be forwarded to a physician's office. Read more about it here. —Lawrence Lloyd