Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 |
Total Health Surveillance Near
Remember those days when doctors only had access to your body's information when you walked into their offices? Well, those days are over thanks to a new generation of body monitors that will broadcast your vital signs via every conceivable communication medium twenty-four hours per day, seven days per week.
Consider Exmocare's BT2, the world's first Bluetooth vital signs wristwatch.
The BT2 is the only wristwatch that can simultaneously, non-invasively, continuously and accurately detect with infrared and tiny metallic sensors from a fully moving wrist: heart rate, heart rate variability, skin temperature, skin conductance and relative movement.
(BT2 wristwatch)
Take a look at the feature list:
- All-in-one design to monitor all critical vital signs 24/7 from the wrist with absolutely no cables, straps or electrodes.
- First ever Bluetooth biosensor wristwatch to send alerts via cell phone or internet.
- First ever wristwatch device to detect anxiety, depression and other emotional side effects of drugs.
- Online care giver account with up to 350 kinds of configuration for alerts by SMS, email or IM to guarantee no false alarms.
Another system that is still in the clinical development stage is Raisin, a platform for body monitoring by Proteus Biomedical. Proteus has created ingestible event markers (IEMs) - tiny sensors that you can swallow that are activated by stomach fluids. Each IEM taken with medication sends a digital signal to a wearable device that in turn relays information to your doctor.
(Proteus ingestible sensor)
Proteus states on their website that the Raisin System is "improve the management of chronic diseases like heart failure, infectious disease and psychiatric disorders."
As far as science-fictional precursors for these systems are concerned, I was thinking of Rudy Rucker's heartshirt from Wetware and the implanted microprocessor monitor from William Gibson's Neuromancer.
[Mitsubishi-Genentech] employees above a certain level were implanted with advanced microprocessors that monitored mutagen levels in the bloodstream.
Is this the ultimate healthcare resource, or a way for insurance companies to enforce compliance? Before you decide that doctors can never make mistakes, or that all healthcare is good healthcare, you need to carefully read Overtreated: Why Too Much Medicine Is Making Us Sicker And Poorer, an excellent book.
Read more at the Proteus and bt2 Exmocare websites; see also Body 2.0 - Continuous Monitoring Of The Human Body for more info on similar technologies. Thanks to Moira for pointing me to the Body 2.0 article; any editorializing in this post is mine. I also wish my friends at frolix_8 would tell me the phildickian take on this, since I'm sure he must have had one.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 3/27/2009)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 2 )
Related News Stories - (" Medical ")
MouthPad Supports Head And Tongue Tracking
'The operation that had transformed half his body... had located the control switchboard in his teeth.'- Alfred Bester, 1956.
Drug Induces Hibernation-Like State In Humans
'... drugged and chilled and stowed in sleep tanks.' - Robert Heinlein, 1951.
Drug To Regenerate Teeth In Humans
'We want to do something to help those who are suffering from tooth loss or absence,' said lead researcher Katsu Takahashi.
Illustrating Classic Heinlein With AI
'Stasis, cold sleep, hibernation, hypothermia, reduced metabolism, call it what you will - the logistics-medicine research teams had found a way to stack people like cordwood and use them when needed.' - Robert Heinlein, 1956
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
Miss Alabama Beauty Contest Offers Different Standards
'...they moved with the ease of dandelion puffs.'
Has Musk Given Up On Full Self Driving (FSD)?
'...some bored drone pusher in a remote driving centre...'
Prufrock-3 'The Monster' Ready To Launch
Just go for it.
Drones In Vast Airborne Grids
'These pods were programmed to hang in space in a hexagonal grid pattern...'
Starship Special Edition For Lunar Shuttle
Love those special edition spaceships.
Capturing Asteroids With Nets
'...the meteor caught and halted just as a small boy catches a swift ball in his cap.'
Project Hyperion - Generation Ship Designers Needed!
'We have decided that it shall be but one ship... it must contain everything needed to take us through the generations.'
AI Welfare Position At Anthropic Filled By Human
'You’re the robopsychologist of the plant, so you’re to study the robot itself...'
Marslink Proposed By SpaceX
'It was the heart of the Solar System's communication line...'
Simple Way To Defeat AI Face Recognition
'... designed to foil facial recognition systems.'
Wood-Panelled LignoSat Launched
'The Consul remembered his first glimpse of the kilometer-long treeship...'
Laser-Beam Welding In Orbital Factories
'His contract with Space Industries required him to work summers in their orbital factory.'
'Iceberg House' Of Travis Kelce Reflects Science Fiction Of Past Century
'The basement was huge... carved deep into the rock that folded up to underlie the ridge...'
Mechazilla Arms Catch A Falling Starship, But Check Out SF Landing-ARMS
'...the rocket’s landing-arms automatically unfolded.'
A System To Defeat AI Face Recognition
'...points and patches of light... sliding all over their faces in a programmed manner that had been designed to foil facial recognition systems.'
Robot Hand Separate From Robot
'The crawling, exploring object was V-Stephen's surgeon-hand...'
