Qualcomm outlicensed its single-use, connected biometric patches for the real-time monitoring of patients to Benchmark Electronics, which provides integrated electronics manufacturing, design and engineering services.
The patches are designed to measure a number of biometric factors, such as temperature and motion. They are intended for use across all stages of care, including in perioperative care and in gauging the success of therapeutic interventions, Qualcomm said in a statement.
"This wearable patch technology will be transformative in its ability to provide timely and accurate data to enable care providers to make better-informed decisions," said James Mault, M.D., senior vice president and chief medical officer of the company’s Qualcomm Life subsidiary. "Utilizing Qualcomm's 30 years of leadership in inventing new connected "things," this low-power, cost-effective, single-use design will fuel new, scalable care models as we transition as an industry from episodic, reactive care to more continuous, proactive, intelligent care."
Benchmark will manufacture the biometric patches, which are currently undergoing clinical validation. The pair has eyes on a commercial rollout in 2018. The devices were designed using Qualcomm’s 2net platform.
In June, Qualcomm partnered with Johnson & Johnson to enable wireless data collection for one of the Big Pharma’s blood glucose meters—the LifeScan OneTouch Verio device. The 2net platform will allow the meter to send a patient’s glucose data to the cloud, where a physician may view it and use it to guide treatment decisions.