Aterica Health unveils ‘Veta Smart Case & App’ for EPIPEN auto-injectors using Bluetooth LE wireless connectivity

Nordic Semiconductor today announces that Aterica Health Inc., a digital health company based in Waterloo, Canada, has developed Veta™ Smart Case & App, a Bluetooth® Low Energy wirelessly connected carrier for EPIPEN® auto-injectors and Mylan’s authorized generic to EPIPEN® auto-injectors using Nordic’s multiple award-winning nRF51822 System-on-Chip (SoC).

Approximately, 15 million Americans and 17 million Europeans have an allergy to some foods, bee stings or latex that could cause a life-threatening reaction, known as anaphylaxis. As symptoms can appear suddenly, epinephrine (adrenaline) must be administered immediately. Veta Smart Case & App helps individuals and families keep their epinephrine auto-injectors nearby.

Veta Smart Case is paired, using Bluetooth LE wireless connectivity provided by the Nordic nRF51822 SoC, to the user’s Bluetooth 4.0 (and later) iOS or Android smartphone. Veta Smart Case wirelessly transmits data to the smartphone-hosted Veta App. Veta App then notifies the user (and their invited support network) in the event they become separated from Veta Smart Case, if the auto-injector fails to remain within a temperature range they set, if it is approaching expiry, or in the event it is removed from the Smart Case.

If Veta Smart Case is ever misplaced, the user can also activate a ‘FindMe’ function from within Veta App that facilitates GPS tracking of the device, and triggers Veta Smart Case to emit a flashing light and audio ‘ping’ to reunite the user with their auto-injector. Additional notifications and reminders help build and reinforce good self-management habits.

Powered by two AAA batteries, the device’s battery life matches the life of the auto-injector, thanks in part to the ultra-low power consumption of the Nordic SoC. [No text in field]

Nordic’s nRF51822 is a powerful and flexible multiprotocol SoC ideally suited for Bluetooth LE and 2.4GHz ultra low-power wireless applications. The nRF51822 is built around a 32-bit ARM® Cortex™ M0 CPU, 2.4GHz multiprotocol radio, and 256kB/128kB Flash and 32kB/16kB RAM. The SoC is supplied with Nordic’s S130 SoftDevice, a Bluetooth 4.2 qualified concurrent multi-link protocol stack solution supporting simultaneous Central/Peripheral/Broadcaster/Observer role connections.

“Aterica selected Nordic because they provided the best combination of managed low power, radio sensitivity, price, performance, and memory capacity that enabled Aterica engineers to create an exceptional user experience across a complex, secure system,” says Adrian Fung, Director of Engineering and Manufacturing of Aterica. “Nordic’s team and software support in diagnosis of complex software and hardware interaction issues was one of the areas where they definitely reinforced their credibility.”

“We found Nordic to be a responsive and professional company to work with,” says Alex Leyn, President and CEO of Aterica. “The support and relationship with Nordic’s application engineering, factory technical support, and commercial team were, and remain, fantastic.”

“Veta Smart Case is a novel product that clearly demonstrates how the application of Bluetooth LE wireless can make medical conditions easier to manage, in this case, assisting families and improving lives of those prone to severe allergic reactions,” says Geir Langeland, Director of Sales & Marketing at Nordic Semiconductor. “Nordic’s technology is particularly suitable for medical applications because it offers a high performance/cost ratio and the software architecture’s code separation allows designers to focus on a superior application.” 

• About Aterica Health Inc.
• About nRF51822
• About Nordic Semiconductor ASA