Hi! Thanks for a very interesting question.
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Here is a list of cutting edge wearable wireless medical devices that
I was able to find.
1. Smart Bandage (Part 1)
?Created for diabetics, the bandage would be studded with tiny sensors
and send data to clinicians via the net.?
??If sensors were built into the bandage that would mean we could have
information about the wound as it heals,? he said, ?its temperature,
humidity, and perhaps even the types of bacteria present.??
"?This would allow the bandage to stay on for much longer and would
save on the cost of medical care by avoiding unnecessary hospital
visits,? said Dr Ejskjaer.?
?Diabetics helped by smart bandage? by Tracey Logan
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/3637258.stm
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2. Smart Bandages (Part 2)
?Consider the "smart bandage," one application for a silicon miniwafer
the size of a grain of sand that can differentiate among bacteria.
This kind of sensor reading may replace the staining and microscopic
inspection technique that dates back to 1884. A "home" version of the
bandage might, for example, change color to signal the presence of
infection in a wound.?
?Emerging Technologies? (Health Informatics)
http://www.healthcare-informatics.com/issues/2004/01_04/cover.htm
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3. Memory Glasses (Page 4 of our next link)
??we are developing memory glasses that might someday help people with
challenges ranging from complex memory loss to simple
absent-mindedness.?
?Memory glasses function like a reliable human assistant, storing
reminder requests and delivering them under appropriate circumstances.
Such a system differs qualitatively from a passive reminder system
such as a paper organizer, or a context-blind reminder system such as
a modern PDA, which records and structures reminder requests but which
cannot know the user?s context.?
4. Diabet Net ? Group Gaming wearable medical device for diabetic kids. (Page 5)
?A typical day in the life of a diabetic child using DiaBetNet would
unfold as follows. In the morning, the child clips his wireless
accelerometer and DiaBetNet case?with wireless Internet connection,
PDA, glucose meter, and wireless receiver for the accelerometer?onto
his belt and goes off to school. Throughout the day, the PDA records
his activity from the accelerometer, data from measuring glucose and
injecting insulin from the glucose meter, and user-entered information
about food consumption.
At any time, the user can see a graph on the PDA that summarizes the
day?s activity, carbohydrate consumption, and glucose data. From time
to time, a wireless Internet connection sends this data to a secure
central server.?
DiaBetNet is a group gaming environment that requires guessing
blood-sugar levels based on information that wearable sensors collect:
The more accurate the answers, the higher the score.?
5. Mental Monitoring ? Healthwear technology to track mental states. (Page 6)
?Healthwear technology also can assist in the early detection of
psychological disorders such as depression. Even though they are quite
treatable, mental diseases rank among the top health problems
worldwide in terms of cost to society. Major depression, for instance,
is the leading cause of disability in established market economies.?
?Healthwear: Medical Technology Becomes Wearable? by Alex (Sandy) Pentland
http://www.cs.umd.edu/hcil/soh/IEEE%20Computer%20Healthwear.pdf
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6. Scentsory Chameleon Bodysuit
?The military camouflage outfit is replete with pathogen detectors; a
high-density, low-temperature micro fuel cell that acts as a
lightweight, long-life power source; and a flexible electroluminescent
display.?
?The sensor technology includes pathogen detectors that are more
reliable and more sensitive than current technology. For example the
detectors on the ASU military outfit could take bacteria, destroy it,
then amplify the bacteria's DNA and look for certain characteristics
of specific pathogens, like anthrax or small pox. Future versions
could incorporate sensors to monitor a soldier's vital signs and
fatigue, Zenhausern said.?
?Researchers demonstrate wearable electronics to aid health and
fashion? (News-Medical in Devices/Technology)
http://www.news-medical.net/?id=1593
--------------------------
7. Wearable Drug Delivery Systems using BioSilicon
?To replace machines that once could fill a cabinet, scientists have
developed portable and wearable devices and implants that deliver
drugs, and diagnose and monitor disease.?
?One application for BioSilicon that Psivida is exploring is delivery
of drugs to the eyes via biodegradable implants. "The eye is a
particularly favored target due to the safety of BioSilicon," said
Roger Aston, director of strategy at Psivida?
?Special delivery? by Cindy H. Dubin
http://www.memagazine.org/nanosept04/speciald/speciald.html
---------------------------
8. Biothermal Batteries:
?Life-saving medical implants like pacemakers and defibrillators face
a big drawback: their batteries eventually run out. So every few
years, patients need surgery to have the batteries replaced.?
?Now a company in New York State is planning to tackle the problem by
providing patients with an implantable power source that recharges
their implant's batteries using electricity generated by the patient's
own body heat.?
?Power implant aims to run on body heat? by Duncan Graham-Rowe
http://www.newscientist.com/hottopics/tech/article.jsp?id=99995091&sub=Gadgets%20and%20Inventions
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9. Lifevest Wearable Defibrillator
?The LifeVest is the first wearable defibrillator. Unlike an
implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD), the LifeVest is worn
outside the body rather than implanted in the chest. This device
continuously monitors the patient's heart with dry, non-adhesive
sensing electrodes to detect life-threatening abnormal heart rhythms.?
?What Is the LifeVest? Wearable Defibrillator??
http://www.lifecor.com/about_lifevest/about.asp
--------------------
10. Operating Room Monitoring for Doctors
?When Vanderbilt University Medical Center anesthesiologist and OR
Director James Berry, M.D., heads down this hall, he feels like a
superhero because he can see through the walls. Floating in front of
his left eye is a computer screen where he can see each operating
room.?
?Everything Dr. Berry can see on this computer system, he can now take
with him. He controls what he sees on the floating monitor with a
mouse pad on his belt. He also wears a battery pack and portable
computer.?
?Vision of the Future? (Ivanhoe Broadcast News)
http://www.healthscout.com/news/1/8009220/main.html
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11. Vital Positioning System
?Medical Intelligence from Quebec has devised a portable cardiac alert
system that will automatically detect a heart attack up to eight
minutes before an individual even gets any symptoms. And because the
device, called the Vital Positioning System (VPS), is connected to a
cell phone or pocket computer containing a global positioning system
(GPS), it will alert designated emergency services that the person is
having a heart attack and pinpoint where, geographically, he or she
is.?
The article also mentions different high-tech wearable medical devices
developed for the healthcare industry.
LifeGuard system ? NASA?s monitoring system for astronaut vital signs
Vitaphone - A mobile phone that transmit heart data when pressed into one?s chest.
LifeShirt ? ??real-time location and physiological monitoring of
military personnel in the field?
V-TAM medical T-shirt ? ??a T-shirt that?s arrayed with small
physiological and medical measurement sensors.?
?GPS found its way into telemedicine?
http://www.gps-practice-and-fun.com/telemedicine.html
Search terms used:
Emerging wireless wearable implant medical device technology 2004
I hope these links would help you in your research. Before rating this
answer, please ask for a clarification if you have a question or if
you would need further information.
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Regards,
Easterangel-ga
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