Part 2) Based on the lecture on Place, Location and Ubiquitous technology, post an example of a product, service or design concept and post it on OSS.
I think an area in which there is still a lot to do concerning Ubiquitous Technology and Wearable Technology is the health sector. Smartwearables which enable you to monitor you health aren’t really widespread as of now.
Of course you find wearables such as FitBit, and Nike plus, but these are made to monitor your efforts and your basic physiological factors (Cardiac activity) but it doesn’t take care of more in depth problems. Furthermore, most of the time this type of wearables are only met for personal use (or shared with friends, but that’s it).
Some wearables exist for people over 60 years old, or any person with history of cardiac problems in the family. It consists of a cardiac monitor connected to the patient’s phone. In case of an unusual heart rate, the nearest hospital and the family would be alerted. This would be a stress relief for the family and could be especially useful for the elderly who live alone.
This system exists on the markets but is only available in the US and is pricey.
But then again, why stop just at cardiac monitoring. You could imagine a dozen micro-wearables, all connected to the phone of the patient, which would all monitor a different aspect of the patient’s physiology.
The application on the patient’s smartphone would collect all the data and send an alarm/notification if there is anything unusual. Therefore, the app would have to be calibrated beforehand with the different specialist who cover the patient’s health (cardiologist, GP, etc..)
You can find more on the example given above by clicking on this link: (http://www.techtimes.com/articles/128695/20160129/forget-fitbit-and-apple-watch-this-wearable-sweat-sensors-can-tell-you-about-your-health-on-a-molecular-level.htm)
Basically what this product does is analyze your sweat. In fact the metabolites and electrolytes found in sweat carry a lot of important information on the patient’s health (diseases, drug use, athletic performance). And the major advantage is that it is non-invasive, no needle is needed.
Hi, thank you for sharing about the new technology that can analyze people’s sweat! It would definitely help if so many data could be gathered without even poking a needle. However, will it has a planted GPS in it? Might be useful to find the whereabout of the patient should he had a sudden health attack..
Hi!
After reading your post (which was interesting) I can see how wearables connected to smartphones in the medical sector also could be used as a new way to interact with your doctor which both can be the doctor contacting you or the patient which directly can send the data to the doctor if he/she has any concerns about his/her health.
Another technology I think of when I read the post which could be used in the same way is Smart Textiles. This could be another way to monitor your health and maybe also be combined with a smartphone product/system.