# Universal Medical Device Identifier to Improve Emergency Triage

> **NIH NIH R44** · BRIDGESOURCE MEDICAL CORPORATION · 2020 · $829,651

## Abstract

Abstract
Cardiovascular Implantable Electronic Devices (CIEDs) like a Permanent Pacemaker or
Implantable Defibrillator are implanted in over 3 million Americans, with the average age of
implantation in the 60s, 40% ≥ 70 years old, and 28% ≥ 80 years old. When a patient presents
to the Emergency Department (ED) with an unknown CIED, reprogramming of the device is
often necessary for their treatment. Every patient should know their device type and
manufacturer. This information is particularly important, as every device can be interrogated
only by a programmer (a custom computer and magnetic wand) from the CIED’s specific
manufacturer. However, in emergency situations, elderly patients may not have their device
information or may be unable to communicate with hospital personnel, leading to delays in
proper treatment. Most often, ED staff use an x-ray to attempt to read the manufacturer and
device type, simply to help determine the correct manufacturer to ask for assistance. To
facilitate prompt and thorough patient treatment, CIED manufacturers typically provide
personnel who are on call in or near medical facilities to assist with any device-related issues.
To solve this problem, BridgeSource Medical proposes a portable handheld device that can
interrogate CIEDs from any manufacturer either in the ED, or in transit to the ED, eliminating the
need for a time-consuming and unnecessary x-ray, and enabling first-line medical personnel.
The proposed device identifier works by mimicking the “wakeup call” communication of the five
major CIED programmers in sequence, and would identify each device by analyzing the
response from the CIED.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9977896
- **Project number:** 5R44AG059499-03
- **Recipient organization:** BRIDGESOURCE MEDICAL CORPORATION
- **Principal Investigator:** John E Porterfield
- **Activity code:** R44 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $829,651
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-05-01 → 2022-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9977896

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9977896, Universal Medical Device Identifier to Improve Emergency Triage (5R44AG059499-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9977896. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*