It’s been announced that Sprint is joining the ranks of Verizon, Qualcomm and others by introducing a new gateway/hub solution to facilitate remote patient monitoring.

For its launch, Sprint is teaming with home monitoring company IDEAL LIFE, who will provide a series of at-home remote monitors for blood pressure, weight, glucose readings, mobility and other vitals.  The integrated gateway device will collect data from the monitors wirelessly and aggregate it to the IDEAL LIFE’s cloud-based platform, where it can be accessed by caregivers and physicians.  The combined system also sends alerts to caregivers, physicians and others when readings are out of normal range.

Similar to Verizon, Sprint is providing the cellular connectivity to the so-called “pod” to transmit data and provide two-way messaging capabilities.  The device serves as a communication gateway with a patient’s home, creating a remote network for instantaneous, secure, two-way communication between a user and his designated healthcare team.  Once activated, the pod automatically syncs with any of IDEAL LIFE’s wireless monitoring devices.

“Wireless M2M solutions present an opportunity to streamline healthcare and provide greater access to critical patient information at significantly less cost and effort,” said Wayne Ward, vice president-Emerging Solutions Group, Sprint. “We are proud to collaborate with IDEAL LIFE to facilitate real-time dialogue and data exchange between individuals and medical professionals. The potential to improve patient wellness and physician efficiency in an on-demand setting is just one example of how connected devices are fundamentally changing every aspect of the way we work and live.”