Wireless patient devices at risk from proposed Internet use

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

> From: "Robert J. Berger" <rberger () ibd com>
> Date: May 13, 2008 3:55:24 PM EDT
> To: Dewayne Hendricks <dewayne () warpspeed com>, David Farber <dave () farber net 
> >
> Subject: Wireless patient devices at risk from proposed Internet use

> Wireless patient devices at risk from proposed Internet use
> By DIBYA SARKAR Associated Press Writer
> http://www.salon.com/wires/ap/scitech/2008/05/13/D90KUIJ80_tv_vs_internet_medical_devices/print.html
> May 13th, 2008 | WASHINGTON -- Losing the audio feed during "Monday
> Night Football" may seem like a crisis for some sports fan, but it's
> nothing compared to losing the signal that monitors a critically ill
> hospital patient.
>
> The technical glitches share a potential source: the proposed use of
> unoccupied TV airwaves for high-speed Internet service across the
> country.
>
> While television networks and wireless microphone users have been
> fighting the idea, the medical community is also sounding the alarm
> over possible interference from unlicensed portable gizmos operating
> in a nearby spectrum. The spectrum's valuable wireless real estate has
> attracted technology companies and consumer advocates who say it
> shouldn't remain vacant.
>
> Hospitals and medical device makers say using empty channels for
> unlicensed uses is a matter of life and death, not just a source of
> static for entertainment outlets. It could disrupt the monitoring of
> patients' heart rates, blood oxygen levels and other vital signs at
> medical facilities.
>
> "If they stop functioning for a period of time, you don't know the
> patient's physiological condition. This is patient care at its most
> basic level," says Dale Woodin, executive director of the American
> Society of Healthcare Engineering, an arm of the American Hospital
> Association.
>
> Medical device maker GE Healthcare, a unit of General Electric Co.,
> has also weighed in, asking the Federal Communications Commission to
> proceed carefully in its decision to permit broadband use through
> those idle channels, commonly known as "white spaces."
>
> In an FCC filing last week, the company requested stricter standards
> to protect wireless patient-monitoring equipment, such as heart, blood
> pressure and respiration devices, from being overwhelmed by other
> equipment operating in nearby channels.
>
> The FCC is conducting tests to find an efficient and interference-free
> way to use the spectrum for broadband, but several trial devices have
> either broken down or failed. A spokesman said some additional lab
> tests may be needed, but the agency will start field testing soon.
>
> Those white spaces, prized for their ability to travel long distances
> and go through walls, will be made available when the nation makes a
> transition to digital TV next February. After the switch, broadcasters
> will occupy channels 2 through 51, but almost half those channels in
> some cities will remain fallow, especially in rural areas where there
> are fewer broadcasters.
>
> Technology companies, including Google Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Dell
> Inc., have said low-powered, unlicensed and portable devices such as
> cell phones, laptops and BlackBerrys, can operate safely in the empty
> spectrum without harming other signals. They say it will provide
> affordable high-speed Internet and spur innovation.
>
> But its potential effect on everything from baseball calls to banjo
> picking has attracted increasingly loud and powerful opponents.
> Television broadcasters, telecom carriers and wireless microphone
> makers and users, including Major League Baseball and the Grand Ole
> Opry, have rejected several proposals from the tech coalition.
>
> "The white spaces proposals being considered by the FCC could turn
> 'Music City' into a silent city unless they get it right," Steve
> Gibson, music director and producer of broadcast audio for the Grand
> Ole Opry, said in a statement Tuesday. The country music venue is
> operated by Nashville, Tenn.-based Gaylord Entertainment Co.
>
> Unlike the broadcasters and wireless mic users, GE Healthcare and ASHE
> say they're not against the technology coalition's proposal, but want
> tougher technical standards implemented to lessen any potential risks.
> They've have had several discussions with the FCC and technology
> companies to find a compromise.
>
> Attorney Scott Blake Harris, who represents several technology
> companies, said Tuesday the coalition has agreed to the substance of
> GE Healthcare's proposal.
>
> "There are no insurmountable technical hurdles here," he added.
>
> <snip>

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