{"id":737416,"date":"2013-02-06T12:03:24","date_gmt":"2013-02-06T17:03:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gigaom.com\/?p=607868"},"modified":"2013-02-06T12:03:24","modified_gmt":"2013-02-06T17:03:24","slug":"fresh-from-primetime-cameo-sotera-wireless-remote-patient-monitoring-tech-nabs-14-8m","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.com\/index\/737416","title":{"rendered":"Fresh from primetime cameo, Sotera Wireless\u2019 remote patient monitoring tech nabs $14.8M"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you watched NBC’s Rock Center a couple of weeks ago, you might have noticed a segment featuring Dr. Eric Topol<\/a>, a longtime cardiologist, author of “The Creative Destruction of Medicine” <\/a>and one of the leading voices in digital medicine.<\/p>

In the segment, he showed off a futuristic flip-phone-sized touchscreen device, worn on the wrist, that helps doctors keep tabs on their patients from afar. The device, called the VisiMobile<\/a> monitor, tracks a patient’s blood pressure, heart rate, respiration rate and other indicators, and lets doctors check in from wherever they might be via PC, tablet or smartphone.<\/p>

On Wednesday, Sotera Wireless<\/a>, the San Diego-based company behind the VisiMobile technology, announced that it had raised an additional $14.8 million. The company, which changed its name from Triage Wireless in 2009<\/a>, last year won FDA clearance<\/a> for its VisiMobile technology. \u00a0In addition to the wrist monitor, the system includes sensors for the chest and thumb and a blood cuff monitor. It can connect to a hospital’s existing infrastructure via secure Wi-Fi to let doctors and nurses keep closer tabs on more patients within a hospital or it can be used to let doctors monitor recently discharged patients.<\/p>

As health providers prepare to give care to more patients and as hospitals face more pressure to lower readmission rates, systems like this, as well as other tele-health technology<\/a>, could become increasingly valuable.<\/p>

In a statement, Sotera Wireless CEO Tom Watlington, said the new funding would go towards commercialization, clinical development and making the technology available to more than 5,000 hospitals across the country. Safeguard Scientifics, a holding company that provides capital and support to health care and technology companies, said it contributed $1.33 million. Other investors included\u00a0new funder Delphi Ventures, as well as existing funders Sanderling Ventures,\u00a0Qualcomm Ventures, EDBI, Intel Capital, Cerner Capital and West Health Investment Fund.<\/p>

You can see a video of Dr. Topol talking about the technology on Rock Center below:<\/p>