A recent Forbes article on the threat of medical device hacking is the latest in a steady drumbeat of calls for more attention to be paid to medical device security.

Contributor Marc Weber Tobias, a security expert and investigative attorney, paints a frightening picture for readers:

Just think of the possibilities: a spouse or business partner decides it is time for a change. She (or he) obtains the needed software and wireless link and triggers a fatal cardiac event. If you had an implanted insulin pump or defibrillator which could be attacked with a small transmitter and computer, would you feel secure knowing that someone “near to you” could access your implanted device and end your life?

He writes that three problems are contributing to the...

There are many applications, particularly in the medical space, where ferroelectric RAM, or FRAM, is the memory technology of choice. Unlike EEPROM of flash memory, FRAM doesn’t need a high internal voltage for writing operations, thereby increasing both the writing speed and the endurance of the memory.

Also key to medical applications is the fact that the FRAM is resistant to sterilization by gamma rays. This suits the technology for RFID tags in secure environments, enabling traceability of products from the production line to end-of-life.

Fujitsu is one of the leaders in FRAM technology. It offers products in UHF and HF ranges. Capacities in the UHF (860 to 960 MHz) line range from 4 to 72 kbytes. The HF line (13.56 MHz) offers 256 bytes to 9 kbytes. For RFID applications, the company combines the FRAM with an ARM Cortex M3-based microcontroller, all operating at 1.8 V.

...

It was only a matter of time before iPads and smartphones made a real dent in medicine. In 2010, Stanford announced that it would be providing the iPads to its incoming class of med students. Last year, a study by the Computing Technology Industry Association announced that more than half of physicians use a smartphone for work. The number of medical and health apps is growing steadily, prompting Apple to create categories for them in the iTunes App Store.

The use of mobile devices by physicians is expected to continue to surge, as its potential becomes apparent and electronic medical records become more commonplace. While many physicians have used laptops in the clinic for activities such as taking notes and writing prescriptions, the iPad and other mobile devices are being used with increasing frequency for such activities.

Daniel Kivatinos and Michael Nusimow saw the importance of mobility in medicine years ago. Both men are graduates of Y Combinator, which is a...

Following Google's purchase of smartphone and tablet maker Motorola Mobility this past August, there was worry that the company would make its popular Android operating system closed-source. Those fears were put to rest today in a letter from Google CEO Larry Page.

"Android was built as an open ecosystem, and we have no plans to change that," he wrote in the 2012 CEO update. 

Its open nature has contributed to Android's success, Page wrote, continuing that the company looks forward to continuing to work with the many hardware makers that use the Android platform.

—...