USB-IF Announces Healthcare USB Device Class

The USB-IF, the crazy cats who bought us all the USB standards (WUSB, USB 2.0) we know and love, have announced the formation of a Personal Healthcare Device Working Group. The goal of this group is to define a USB Personal Healthcare Device Class spec to allow health-related devices like blood pressure cuffs and exercise watches to connect via USB to PCs and cell phones. This is being done to help enable more communication between the doctor, patient, and care giver. For example this sort of standard could make it easier for a person with high blood pressure to track their readings and show them to the doctor for adjustments in care. It would be really cool to be able to take your pulse while exercising and send it to your trainer anywhere via your cell phone instantly.

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