Posted by admin in Mobile phones, after revolutionizing the way people communicate across the world, are well on their way to bring about a new era in healthcare. They are set to assuming the role of our ever-reliable nurses, helping doctors keep a close watch on our vitals. These gadgets are being designed to help early detection of disease, and thereby reducing treatment costs as well. And the day is not far off when a mobile phone will trigger drug release in the nick of time to save your life.
Presently, medical mobile phones can monitor your heart condition. When you strap one around your chest while jogging, it beams information about your heart rate along with other things such as your speed, distance, route and altitude according to the calculation made by its embedded GPS chip. Nokia has come out with such a product – Nokia N79 Active. NTT DoCoMo has introduced a “Fitness Phone,” with busy people in mind who want a simple method of monitoring their health and fitness.
Manufacturers are soon set to introduce cellphones that will link you to bona fide medical devices, for example, glucose meters and blood-pressure cuffs so you can send them straight to your physician for prompt evaluation. Blackberry phones are now in the process of testing the Health on the Go program, which is designed to capture blood pressure, and oxygen and sugar levels when you connect Bluetooth-enabled instruments.
With further technological advancement, mobile phones in the next three or so years will be able to check vitals automatically, eliminating the need for texting altogether. By using short-range radio chips, scientists at the University of Texas are now developing implantable sensors to constantly beam vital signs to your phone. The phone will then relay information to your physician, who can send back instructions for the implants. The sensor may then be asked to carry out certain functions, such as releasing built-in doses of insulin or painkiller.
At UCLA, researchers have made a prototype mobile phone that can monitor the condition of HIV and malaria patients, and also test water quality in undeveloped areas or disaster sites. So, as things progress, mobile phones will certainly make a big impact on the healthcare system across the world.
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