FCC empowers broadband and health IT to transform health care for patients

The Federal Communications Commission adopted rules that will enable a new generation of wireless medical devices that could be used to restore functions to paralyzed limbs.

Medical Micropower Networks (MMNs) are ultra-low power wideband networks consisting of multiple transmitters implanted in the body that use electric currents to activate and monitor nerves and muscles. The FCC initiated this proceeding in response to a petition from the Alfred Mann Foundation, which has built prototype MMN systems and conducted extensive testing that demonstrates that this new medical technology can reliably operate in shared spectrum to deliver vital therapies. The action the FCC takes today will allow devices such as those being tested by Alfred Mann to proceed on the path to patient use as well as inspire researchers to begin work on the next generation of implanted medical radio networks.