FCC Adopted Rules For New Advanced Medical Technologies

The Federal Communications Commission approved new rules to provide additional spectrum for wireless medical devices. Current rules accommodate wireless implanted medical devices for a variety of diagnostic and therapeutic functions, such as implantable cardiac pacemakers and defibrillators that can be adjusted wirelessly. Significant advances in both implanted and body-worn wireless medical technologies are increasing the demand for spectrum and for greater flexibility in how such devices operate and coexist. These new medical technologies will improve the diagnosis and treatment of a wide variety of medical conditions and, most importantly, improve quality of life for people coping with such conditions. Implanted and body-worn medical devices that rely upon wireless technologies have been introduced recently under waivers of the rules for applications such as blood glucose monitors, which support more timely and effective treatment for patients with diabetes. With the addition of new spectrum and adoption of rules for alternative operating parameters, newer generations of devices could be deployed that perform a greater variety of functions, such as implanted vagus nerve stimulators that send electric pulses to the brain to treat severe chronic depression and deep brain stimulators used to treat tremors related to Parkinson's disease. Such advances have the potential to significantly improve the quality of life and sophistication of therapy for countless Americans living with a variety of medical conditions and, in turn, could result in lower medical costs and extend the time between hospital visits and surgical procedures.