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| BodyGuardian Remote Monitoring System--Courtesy of Preventice |
Having an edge in cardiac monitoring tech can translate into sales of interventional cardiac devices down the line. That's a strategy that med tech behemoth Medtronic ($MDT) is adhering to, as is its competitor Boston Scientific ($BSX). The latter has disclosed a partnership with Preventice Solutions to exclusively market its cardiology-related diagnostic and monitoring products worldwide, although financial details weren't released.
Preventice has a portfolio of wearable cardiac monitors, including Holter monitors, cardiac event monitors and mobile cardiac telemetry. These are all enabled for wireless data to the cloud and connect to software that enables surveillance, reporting, interpretation and integration into a healthcare provider's workflow.
"As our healthcare environment continues to evolve, healthcare practitioners, administrators and payers are looking for solutions that identify relevant clinical insights from large volumes of patient data and integrate those insights to improve clinical decision-making," Joe Fitzgerald, EVP and President of Rhythm Management at Boston Scientific, said in a statement.
He added, "This collaboration with Preventice Solutions, which has an infrastructure optimized to monitor hundreds of thousands of patients each year, is a critical step in our effort to improve patient outcomes and reduce healthcare costs."
The deal could aid a weaker segment for the company. Boston Scientific grew its cardiac rhythm management business by only 2% to $959 million during the first half of this year. Overall its three core businesses, brought in $3.6 billion during the first half an increase of 6%.
Preventice's BodyGuardian Remote Monitoring System is based on a bandage-sized patch that transmits real-time cardiac ECG and rhythm monitoring data for analysis and monitoring to the cloud as well as smart devices for access by healthcare providers and the patient. Last fall, Preventice merged with another cardiac monitoring player eCardio Diagnostics.
The system, which was developed with the Mayo Clinic, is similar to the adhesive patch-based cardiac monitoring solution that Medtronic acquired from Corventis and launched last fall. There are also a slew of startups pursuing wearable, wireless, connected cardiac monitoring including AliveCor and iRhythm--which were both Fierce 15 picks in 2014.
- here is the release