Medical Devices for Telemedicine and Home Care Applications

Portable biomedical devices for health care management are producing a great impact in the monitoring of patients located in areas different from clinical environments such as houses, military bases, ships, and the like. A number of applications, ranging from data collection, to chronic patient surveillance, and even to the control of therapeutic procedures, are being implemented in many parts of the world. The development of portable devices for telemedicine is accelerated by new technologies such as wireless transmission, GPS (Global Positioning System) receivers, Internet applications and GSI (Giga Scale of Integration) of electronic devices. In recent decades the development of portable biomedical devices has led to the presentation of numerous patents. The aim of this paper is to review some of these patents, with emphasis on the possibilities of patients remote monitoring, providing all necessary information in real-time from their homes to the health facility. Thus the specialist can make his diagnosis from the hospital. This is the new concept of home care.