Medical Device Cyber Experts Explain Data, Signal Constraints
“Modern pacemakers, from brands like Medtronic, Abbott and Boston Scientific, now use Bluetooth Low Energy to ‘talk’ to an app on your smartphone,” said Phil Englert, vice president of medical device security at the Health Information Sharing and Analysis Center.
“While you can see your data on an Apple Watch, the watch isn’t actually talking to your pacemaker, it’s just pulling that information from your phone. Think of your phone as the primary hub and your watch as a remote screen; the pacemaker itself never connects to the watch directly,” he said.
Also, the patient’s smartphone doesn’t send the pacemaker data straight to a doctor for monitoring. The phone acts as a middleman, he said.
“The app shows the patient the basics like battery life and activity levels, but sends the heavy-duty clinical data – like ECGs and heart rhythms – to a secure cloud managed by the manufacturer,” he said. “From there, the patient’s doctor logs into a private portal to review reports, usually during standard office hours,” he said.
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