Inbreken in een pacemaker

Technological progress in healthcare offers a plethora of opportunities, but they also raise important issues, such as safety. Every year, around 18,000 electronic implants with a therapeutic function, such as pacemakers and implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs), are implanted in patients in the Netherlands. Most of these devices are able to establish a wireless internet connection to share technical and diagnostic information remotely with healthcare providers. If the access to the device is not sufficiently protected, a security risk arises with potential health risks. Currently, the therapeutic advantages of an ICD outweigh the potential security risks associated with the device. For healthcare providers it is a challenge to conduct a proper risk assessment in this situation. It is therefore important that manufacturers improve estimations of risks associated with their products, that incidents are shared more widely and that independent quality assurance testing is conducted.

Conflict of interest and financial support: none declared.