Tele-Tracking and Remote Health Monitoring

Image by gaspar via Flickr

Medical Care Technologies Inc. (MDCE) today announced completion of version 5.1 of the Trackker(TM) technology for patients suffering with Alzheimer's and Dementia.
The Trackker and its Tele-Health Suite use wireless connections to link a GPS monitor that is worn by the patient and is linked to a 24/7 monitoring service. By programming the GPS to certain safety zones, the service can send a phone or email alert to a caregiver immediately. GPS systems (based on 24 satellites and their ground stations) typically track patients in open areas outside of buildings however, the Patient Tracker system has the ability to monitor the location of patients within and around facilities.
According to the Alzheimer's Disease International, in 2008 there were 30 million people with dementia worldwide. By 2050, it is projected that this figure will have increased to over 100 million and so will numbers of people with Alzheimer's disease. Much of the increase will be in developing countries, especially China, India, and their south Asian and western Pacific neighbours.

Many other remote monitoring systems are commercially available (See, for example, GPS shoes that let mommy know where kids are) Among silvertech offerings, Japanese conglomerate Marubeni’s technology seems to be particularly advanced.

Developed by the Advanced Institute of Wearable Environmental Information Networks, the sensor intended to be worn on the chest measures just 3×3cm and is 5mm thick. Vital signs such as body temperature or heart rate can be monitored remotely and analyzed using special software.

Acciordign to The Nikkei, sensors cost around $350 each, while Marubeni charges $110 monthly for using the software. The company aims at generating $11 million in sales in the first year with the system.

And you may even not wear anything at all in order to be monitored - if you have a tiny chip implanted under your skin. Formerly known as VeriChip, PositiveID ( SVUL) is beginning a study of its Health Link implantable microchip in diabetic, hypertensive and obese patients. The implanted chip can be scanned to access the patient’s online medical records, check glucose and cholesterol levels (see HealthScreenDirect) and is expected to improve disease management. The company’s critics fear the chip will one day become mandatory, leading to a complete loss of medical privacy and healthcare benefits. Credit and Health monitoring may be even integrated. Google and Microsoft are said to be among those possibly testing the chips.

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This is a continuation of telemedicine/wireless health series by Aurametrix. Previous blogs included Telemedicine: part 1; Telemedicine: part 2; survey of Health 2.0 Software tools, Devices to keep you healthy; Going for the piece of a healthcare pie; On M-Health, wireless health and smart plasters.