As of next week, Deutsche Telekom (DT) will be selling m-health products in 350 of its Germany retail stores. The new devices will enable consumers to measure their blood sugar levels, blood pressure, weight and pulse rates and then store the results on an iPhone, iPod or iPad.
The medical data is then transferred to a VitaDock device manufactured by Medisana Telekom, which can compare the measurements against predetermined settings. Users will need to have downloaded a free VitaDock app from Apple's App Store to enable the data connection.
Commenting on the new venture, as reported by Portal.de, Axel Wehmeier, director of group health business with DT, said: "We are thinking about expanding the service further, and in the future could see VitaDock users making their health data available to physicians or family members online."
DT sid that there are a number of accessories designed to record particular medical conditions. The GlucoDock helps diabetics to measure their blood sugar quickly, while the ThermoDock turns the iPhone or iPod touch into an infrared thermometer. There is also a CardioDock for use with blood pressure and pulse rate monitoring that allows the user to store automatically a number of readings for later analysis.
More and more operators are starting to focus their m-health initiatives directly at consumers. For example, O2 Health, the healthcare division of Telefónica-owned O2 UK, will launch its first consumer-facing mobile app later this year.
For more:
- see this Portal.de article (translated via Google Translate)
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