CareFusion, Cisco and Medtronic to Collaborate With West Wireless Health Institute on Technology and Educational Initiatives
By West Wireless Health Institute, PRNESunday, June 20, 2010
Companies demonstrate continued commitment to accelerate emerging wireless health industry
SAN DIEGO, June 21, 2010 - The West Wireless Health Institute (WWHI) today announced CareFusion,
Cisco and Medtronic have joined its roster of Technology and Education (T&E)
partners. Each company plans to work closely with the Institute's clinical
and engineering teams on a variety of research, technology and educational
initiatives focused on accelerating wireless health solutions.
WWHI, founded in March 2009 with a US$45 million gift from the Gary and
Mary West Foundation, is one of the world's first medical research
organizations dedicated to lowering health care costs by innovating,
validating, advocating for, investing in and commercializing wireless health
solutions. The nonprofit Institute is headquartered in San Diego, California,
the global hub for wireless life science research and development.
"These companies clearly understand the power of wireless mobile devices
and their potential to transform health care delivery," said Dr. Eric J.
Topol, vice chairman of the board and chief innovation officer, West Wireless
Health Institute. "While each partner is bringing unique expertise to the
table, we know that our combined and shared efforts will generate creative
solutions for improving care and lowering costs."
The Institute is forging the T&E partnerships with like-minded
stakeholders around the world to drive innovation and advance the emerging
field of wireless health, with the goal of lowering health care costs. In
addition to the companies announced today, GE Healthcare and Qualcomm are
also T&E partners. The partnerships are based on the mutual exchange of
ideas, technical assistance and expertise, and do not include any exchange of
funds.
"CareFusion is committed to identifying new opportunities to help
eliminate medication errors, hospital-acquired infections and reduce the cost
of health care, and we believe wireless monitoring and other mobile health
solutions will have a tremendous impact in these areas," said Mike Martino,
senior vice president of Innovation, Business Development and Strategy,
CareFusion. "We look forward to working with the West Wireless Health
Institute to help bridge wireless technology and improved patient care."
"In our ongoing efforts to identify how Cisco can make a difference in
people's lives, we try to look at technology as an enabler in solving
critical problems," said Nicholas Augustinos, senior director of global
healthcare solutions for Cisco's Internet Business Solutions Group (IBSG).
"As recognized by the exclusive endorsement of Cisco's wireless products by
the American Hospital Association we believe strongly in the potential of
wireless health care solutions to help solve the challenge of inefficient and
expensive health care delivery. We are proud to join together with the West
Wireless Health Institute to truly make a difference in the quality and cost
of health care around the world."
For more information on WWHI, please visit
www.westwirelesshealth.org.
ABOUT CAREFUSION CORPORATION
CareFusion (NYSE: CFN) is a global corporation serving the health care
industry with products and services that help hospitals measurably improve
patient care. The company develops market-leading technologies including
Alaris(R) IV pumps, Pyxis(R) automated dispensing and patient identification
systems, AirLife(TM), AVEA(R) and LTV(R) series of ventilators and
respiratory products, ChloraPrep(R) skin prep products, MedMined(TM) services
for infection surveillance, V. Mueller(R) and Snowden-Pencer(R) surgical
instruments and NeuroCare diagnostic products. CareFusion employs more than
15,000 people across its global operations. More information may be found at
www.carefusion.com.
ABOUT CISCO SYSTEMS
Cisco, (Nasdaq: CSCO), the worldwide leader in networking that transforms
how people connect, communicate and collaborate, this year celebrates 25
years of technology innovation, operational excellence and corporate social
responsibility. Information about Cisco can be found at www.cisco.com.
For ongoing news, please go to newsroom.cisco.com.
ABOUT THE WEST WIRELESS HEALTH INSTITUTE
The West Wireless Health Institute (www.westwirelesshealth.org) is one of
the first medical research organizations in the world supporting the
exploration and application of wireless technologies to advance
infrastructure independent health care. Based in San Diego, California, the
nonprofit Institute is fostering an unprecedented convergence of medicine,
engineering, science, technology and health care economics. Its mission is to
cut health care costs by accelerating the availability of wireless medical
solutions.
Michele B. Guthrie of West Wireless Health Institute, +1-858-539-3500, mbguthrie at gmwhi.org
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