The USC Center for Body Computing (CBC) has announced that Karten Design is among 17 founding members of the CBC.  As a member, Karten Design will support wireless health research and innovation and help to transform new technologies and ideas into viable, user-focused products.

"Healthcare will soon be radically changed by wireless technology, which has the potential to enhance the patient experience and improve healthcare outcomes,” says Leslie A. Saxon, MD, CBC’s executive director. CBC was established late last year as an epicenter of wireless health.

The emerging field of wireless health represents a convergence of Karten Design’s key disciplines and an area where the company offers a great deal of expertise to the CBC. The firm has partnered with medical device and consumer electronics companies for 27 years to commercialize new technology.

“For years we’ve followed the trend of individuals being able to take ownership of their health as care moves from hospital-based reactive treatment to home-based proactive care,” says Karten Design principal Stuart Karten, whose 25-person firm has partnered with companies including Avery Dennison Medical Solutions, Starkey Laboratories Inc, and Medtronic Diabetes to develop wireless health solutions. “We believe wireless health will have a profound change on the medical device industry and would like to help drive that change.”

The sponsoring companies, from start-ups to large corporations, come from all corners of the globe. In supporting the CBC, Karten Design joins a group of 17 international technology, software, device and service leaders, including Medtronic, Inc, St. Jude Medical, Avery Dennison, Boston Scientific, Proteus Biomedical, and Sotera Wireless, that are working to advance healthcare delivery and education. 

“Our founding members are a critical part of the Center for Body Computing. We are jointly creating product prototypes and economic models for wireless health.  We believe wireless medicine has the potential to help millions, if not billions, of people,” says Saxon.  “Wireless health solutions can democratize medicine by breaking down the barriers between health care providers and patients, leading to faster and more cost-effective cures, and increased access to health solutions for people worldwide.”