| Motorola has invested in Zephyr Technology, a leader in remote physiological monitoring systems |
Motorola, Inc. today announced that Motorola Ventures, the company's strategic venture capital arm, made an investment in Zephyr Technology Corporation, a global leader in the rapidly growing remote physiological monitoring industry. Financial terms of the investment were not disclosed.
Zephyr's physiological and biomechanical monitoring solutions are based on the company's patent-pending Smart Fabric technology, which combines fabric-based sensors with algorithms and electronics. These monitoring solutions can be used in a diverse range of areas including sports, defense, first responder and healthcare.
Zephyr's professional-grade BioHarness™ system monitors conditions such heat state, dehydration or injury by measuring vital signs including heart rate, breathing rate, skin temperature, posture and activity. Using the subject's voice radio (or internal radio for short distances), the BioHarness communicates to monitoring software designed to give real-time alerts and post-event analysis.
Real-time monitoring of human health conditions is especially important for first responder teams working in the most challenging of environments. With cardiac arrest ranking as the number one cause of death for on-duty firefighters in the U.S., reliable, real-time monitoring can save lives and better manage team members in strenuous situations where every second counts.
"The ability to track a team's health status real-time in hazardous situations has the potential to not only improve response times and increase safety but also save lives," said Reese Schroeder, managing director, Motorola Ventures. "Zephyr represents an innovative new application area solving a very real problem for our public safety customers. We're pleased to be involved in their growth and success."
"This is an exciting period of growth for Zephyr. We're transitioning from selling systems to researchers and professional sports teams to delivering systems to first responders where real-time physiological status monitoring has a very vital impact influencing both command decisions and remote triage," said Zephyr CEO Brian Russell.
"Motorola's experience and expertise in the first responder communications field is invaluable, and we look forward to bringing joint solutions to market."