Erik Stephansen, president of Cytta Corp. Photo: Cytta Corp

[Via Satellite 02-07-2014] Cytta Corp, a U.S. telemedicine company, confirmed a definitive agreement with Orbcomm’s value added reseller (VAR) Home2Phone to expand its smartphone-based IT platform using satellite. Cytta Connect’s data network provides two-way communication between wellness monitoring devices using a cloud platform and an Android phone. Once enacted, the agreement will expand the reach of Cytta Connect, the company’s remote data capture system, to areas that cannot be reached by terrestrial networks.

“Cytta’s special purpose network expands mobile M2M into healthcare, and it transforms care into being-everywhere care,” said Erik Stephansen, president of Cytta Corp. “It becomes a true connected experience of care for the patient, loved ones and the caregivers, and satellite is an important piece to expand that delivery into areas that were previously closed off.”

One of the reasons Cytta chose to partner with Home2Phone is to expand released-patient care beyond the limits of Wi-Fi. The company uses its own cellular network, which makes use of AT&T and T-Mobile networks. The agreement expands that network to include access to Orbcomm’s 26 low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites, the accompanying ground infrastructure and cellular data service.

“A lot of people use Wi-Fi, but you can think of Wi-Fi as typically locking you into a location,” explained Stephansen. “You effectively become a prisoner of your home. With mobile cellular you have this full flexibility of travel and freedom of movement. By adding satellite, we expand the coverage to nearly everywhere.”

Cytta Connect does not require a large amount of data to send electronic biometric records (EBRs). The system caters toward the chronically ill, who often need a “core four” measurements to be taken on a regular basis. According to Stephansen, those four are blood pressure, weight, pulse-ox and blood glucose. Each of these measurements, when taken with Bluetooth enabled medical devices, can send the information automatically through Cytta Connect.

“We’re sending very small amounts of data. For example, the weight of a person in digital format is very small. We’re talking bits, not even bytes. It’s a whole scale smaller,” said Stephansen. “The nice thing about the Home2Phone partnership is, with their Orbcomm relationship and narrow band solution, it simplifies our remote healthcare strategy, and with so many satellites they are really hard to beat. That’s what attracted us to them. We looked at other solutions, but because of our ability to utilize narrow bandwidth, they were an ideal provider. And,” he added, “they have an interest in healthcare, so it makes sense to partner.”

The service ultimately assists users in taking proactive steps for their own health. Applying an M2M solution to healthcare increases the ability to take preventative steps and keep patient biometrics stable before the situation becomes more severe.

“Satellites, especially in Orbcomm’s situation, are very good at tracking assets,” said Stephansen. “Tracking the well being of people is something new and that’s what is wonderful about this kind of solution: you will soon be able to do this for yourself.”