Smart medical devices: The connected hearing implant

Recent developments in micro- and nanotechnology are paving the way for completely new approaches to smart medical devices for health monitoring, sensors and actuators. Combined with the current progress in the field of ultra-low power wireless connectivity this will allow to develop new “smart medical devices” for a broad range of health care applications. The integration of diagnostic and monitoring functionality within a medical device, eg a neurostimulator, a drug delivery system or a pace maker, combined with a control function and remote accessibility provided by a mobile device, eg a smart phone or a tablet, will strongly change the current approach to health care provision in many respects. Based on examples from hearing health care provision I will discuss the potentials, hurdles and limitations of smart integrated medical devices and systems.