Electronic Jewelry for Health
Bracelets and amulets are in the works at Dartmouth's Institute for Security, Technology, and Society (ISTS). Rather than items of mere adornment, the scientists and engineers are constructing personal mobile health (mHealth) deviceshighly functional jewelry, as it were.
mHealth is a rapidly growing field where technology helps you or your physician monitor your health through mobile devices. This approach can offer more accurate and timely diagnoses as well as lower health costs. However, smartphones are often used to transmit collected medical information, and these transmissions are open to hacking.
David Kotz '86 guides a research group whose focus is mHealth. Kotz, professor of computer science and associate dean of faculty for the sciences, works with a diverse team whose members include graduate students (Shrirang Mare and Cory Cornelius), a postdoctoral associate in computer science (Jacob Sorber, now an assistant professor of computer science at Clemson University), a computer programmer (Ronald Peterson), faculty and technical staff from Thayer School of Engineering and the Geisel School of Medicine (Ryan Halter and Joe Skinner), and others. Their wide-ranging skills are being brought to bear in a field that is redefining the relationship between patient and doctor.
Collection and communication of medical information via mHealth systems can help a physician monitor patients with chronic diseases or other medical concerns on a more frequent basis. The ability to look at the data remotely and assess a patient's condition might also mean fewer trips to the hospital or the doctor's office.
One of the Institute's intriguing wearable devices under development has actually been christened "Amulet," first announced at a conference in February 2012. Its foremost feature would be a wireless communication capability, possibly using something like Bluetooth. As envisioned, Amule
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| Contact: Amy Olson amy.d.olson@dartmouth.edu 603-646-3274 Dartmouth College Source:Eurekalert |