The cardiac interventional suite has historically been a setting where high-tech, cutting-edge tools are welcomed. But with hospitals scrutinizing expenditures more closely than ever before, such tools must now prove themselves. Hospitals looking to build new interventional suites, or modernize old ones, are placing a premium on technologies that can improve safety, efficiency, and flexibility while streamlining workflow. A handful of companies are now offering products designed to meet these needs, and providers are starting to take notice.

The recent proliferation of smart phones and mobile apps has put everything from face-to-face meetings to comparison shopping into the palms of our hands. Wireless technology is changing the way we communicate and do business, and proponents say it could soon have a similar game-changing impact on health care. Indeed, hundreds of mobile health apps are already available for relatively simple tasks such as logging and tracking blood pressure measurements, caloric intake, and sleep habits, but this is only the beginning of what could be a pervasive and increasingly sophisticated technology trend in the years ahead.

Electronic medical records will drive increasing demand for standards-based medical device interoperability, an advance that could enable real-time population of the EMR and the development of "smart" systems capable of integrating disparate clinical information. But what are the issues surrounding medical device interoperability? And what it mean for medical device manufacturers? Medtech Insight interviews Julian Goldman, MD, the founding director of Medical Device Plug-and-Play Interoperability Program at the Center for Integration of Medicine and Innnovative Technology.