Group says data standard will speed device communications
A Healthcare InfoTech Staff Report
The Medical Device Communications Industry Group (MDCIG; Piscataway, New Jersey) has been formed to accelerate the adoption of standardized data communications among medical devices.
MDCIG is the first industry group to be organized within the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers’ (IEEE; New York) Industry Standards and Technology Organ ization (ISTO). Established last month, the new group is an independent, not-for-profit corporation designed to provide both a forum to develop specifications and a method for facilitating activities that support standards and specifications in the marketplace, according to Andrew Salem, president and CEO of the IEEE-ISTO. Those activities could range from marketing and certification to conformity assessment and specifications development, he said.
The MDCIG will offer "an excellent example of the alternative processes, procedures, and services many industries need today to promote a standard in the marketplace," Salem said. "We look forward to working with MDCIG to meet their goals and objectives."
The IEEE 1073 Standard for Medical Device Commun ications allows clinicians to link patient-connected bedside medical devices to a bedside patient monitoring device or a computer network in a simple fashion. This permits comprehensive data capture from devices such as infusion pumps, ventilators, and patient monitors connected to acutely ill patients.
The standard itself received its first public demonstration this week at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH; Boston, Massachusetts). The demonstration showed data being sent from infusion pumps supplied by Alaris Medical Systems, using standard ethernet cable supplied by Champlain Cable Corp., to a patient monitor supplied by GE Marquette Medical Systems and a device interfacing system supplied by Hewlett-Packard. Additional demonstrations are tentatively scheduled for April at Massachusetts General and in June at the annual meeting of the Assoc iation for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation.
IEEE Executive Director Bob Kennely said that MDCIG will provide an avenue "for medical device vendors to work together to support and accelerate the development of the IEEE 1073 Standards, as well as market and demonstrate the capabilities of standardized medical data communications. The four founding sponsors, Alaris Medical Systems, Hewlett-Packard, Siemens Medical Systems, and GE Marquette Medical Systems, recognize the importance of standards for medical device communications. Between 10 and 15 vendors are expected to join this effort in 1999."
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