BodyMedia Markets Products that Record, Transmit Patient Information
BodyMedia Inc. is "trying to stake its claim in 'bioinformatics'" by marketing to insurers and employers products that can record and transmit information about patients' vital signs and health indicators, the Wall Street Journal reports. Last month, the Pittsburgh-based company began offering its first product, "an Internet site where consumers enter data daily about sleep, diet and exercise, all designed to help them achieve a balanced, healthy lifestyle" -- and this summer plans to roll out "an electronic armband that monitors heart rate, blood pressure and other vital signs, and downloads the data wirelessly to a personal computer." The armband, called SenseWear, can be programmed to keep the wearer alert to "danger signals and mindful of health necessities." BodyMedia has begun marketing the products to its target consumer group of 30- to 50-year old "health-conscious women," and plans to sell its product in bulk by forming partnerships with employers, health insurers and other entities (Wysocki, Wall Street Journal, 4/17).
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