AmbiCom Holdings, Inc. today disclosed that it just bagged a $380,000 order for its WL54-CF Compact Flash cards.
The company didn’t disclose which business had purchased the technology, but stated that the cards would be used in the production of glucose meters.
The AmbiCom WL54-CF CompactFlash card is a compatible wireless card that can be operated in a mixed-mode network (802.11b and 802.11g). AmbiCom boasts that the card has a transfer rate of 54Mbps.
A CompactFlash card enables a PDA device, such as a handheld glucose meter, for Wi-Fi connection. The card usually fits into a slot on the side or the back of the device and feeds off of the PDA’s battery to minimize power consumption.
Some smaller cards require an adapter to fit into the device’s card slot.
CompactFlash also stores data in handheld devices. In fact, data storage was the original function of the cards before manufacturers added a wireless antenna to enable connectivity.
Glucose meters are primarily used by patients with diabetes. A meter typically pricks the skin on a diabetic person’s fingertip by using a spring-loaded lancet. A test strip catches the blood sample, and the machine then tests the blood sample for glucose so that the patient can continuously monitor blood sugar.
Wireless glucose monitors transmit blood sugar readings to an online portal that is visible to the patient, as well as to medical professionals. The portal can analyze blood sugar trends, provide patient-specific coaching and keep patients from altering the results that they share with their spouses and their doctors.
Potentially, the WL54-CF card could add easy wireless connectivity to a previously standalone glucose meter, giving patients enhanced functionality without a great increase in cost.
AmbiCom produces devices primarily for the healthcare and automotive industries. They expect to deliver the CompactFlash cards to their mystery client during the second quarter of 2013.
Edited by
Braden Becker
