http://www.techweb.com/wire/story/TWB20010504S0007 [As if it wasn't enough that you had to worry about Internet connected refrigerators being hacked, and Webvan pulling up with a skid of Breyers Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream, (A favorite of General H. Norman Schwarzkopf & myself) But also facing the ultimate denial of service attack, a cracker going to town with your pacemaker. - WK] By Charles J. Murray EE Times 05/04/01 BOSTON -- Physicians and medical-device manufacturers prepared this week for the next big step in cardiac care: the debut of the Internet-enabled heart. The world's biggest manufacturers of pacemakers, defibrillators, and other heart devices said at the North American Society of Pacing and Electrophysiology conference here that it plans to roll out Internet-enabled products, some as early as this summer. Medtronic Inc., Minneapolis, demonstrated the Chronicle, an implantable heart-monitoring device now being clinically tested by physicians in applications where it transmits critical patient information to secure Internet sites. Medtronic engineers said the Internet capabilities will be carried over to the company's pacemakers and defibrillators sometime this year. Similarly, St. Jude Medical, also based in Minneapolis, showed off its soon-to-be-introduced Housecall 2, a tabletop "transtelephonic" monitoring system designed for use with the company's implantable defibrillators. The device, which allows patients at home to connect to a remote server, is being considered for Internet connectivity. Physicians at the conference said they eagerly await the integration of Internet capabilities into implantable heart devices. If used properly, they said, the Internet could be a powerful tool to help patients concerned about the condition of their hearts, or about the operation of their implanted pacemakers or defibrillators. This would be an incredible adjunct for patients who call their physician and believe their heart has had a shock," said Dr. Mark Schoenfeld, director of the Cardiac Electrophysiology and Pacer Laboratory at the Hospital of St. Raphael, New Haven, Conn. "Right now, we have patients who often must travel two hours just to find out that nothing's wrong." "The potential for this is straight out of Star Wars," added Dr. Paul Levine, vice president and medical director of the St. Jude Medical Cardiac Rhythm Management Division and a clinical professor of medicine at Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, Calif. "It's nothing short of a revolution in medicine." Medical professionals say the revolution is being fueled by a universal demand for remote patient management. With less face-to-face time available for patients, physicians and health-care managers say they want new techniques to deal with patient needs. ISN is hosted by SecurityFocus.com --- To unsubscribe email LISTSERVat_private with a message body of "SIGNOFF ISN".
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