Health monitoring devices of the future will not just be biometric tracking devices or journaling apps or detection and alerting systems, but all of the above as part of one comprehensive solution.
Designers at Artefact set out to think up a solution that would address the entire experience of living with epilepsy.
It’s a complex and often misunderstood condition that affects nearly 3 million Americans. Seizures are unpredictable, and triggers are complex. Although they can be terrifying to bystanders, they don’t always mean that emergency medical attention is required.
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Artefact’s concept, Dialog, would use a wearable sensor and smartphone app to address some of those challenges.
The design of the wearable itself is pretty incredible.
It would contain a hydration sensor, thermometer, accelerometer, pulse oximeter, pressure sensor and microphone, and would be worn on the wrist or stuck on the skin under clothing. Bluetooth connectivity would allow it to communicate sensor readings to a smartphone app.
The user would manually enter data about triggers and thresholds, and the app would be able to use the sensor data to pick up on early signs of a seizure. It would alert the user so he could get to a safe place if possible and would record the time and duration of a seizure if it happened.
If the user needed help during a seizure, he could squeeze the device to trigger the pressure sensor and initiate a 911 call.
Here’s where things really come full circle. If it detected a seizure, the app would pull up instructions for a bystander who may come to help. And when it detected that the seizure was over, the app would display the details it had just recorded, to help people get reoriented if they lost consciousness during their seizure.
One of the other interesting things about Artefact’s design is that users interact with the wearable device, not just with the app. It would have a small touch screen when someone could swipe up or down to indicate their mood, or double tap it to record that they feel an episode coming on.
All of that data would be accumulated over time and made viewable through the app or by the user’s physician on an online dashboard.
An Artefact rep told me the firm thinks the technology for a platform like Dialog is already out there. What’s needed now is an investment in engineering and product development, followed by clinical testing and validation. The firm is hoping to find the right partners to engage with on that.
Meanwhile, other groups like the company SmartMonitor and the nonprofit RTI International are at work on mobile alert and monitoring systems for seizures.
[Images courtesy of Artefact]
