Posts Tagged ‘Health Monitor’

TEDMED 2009 was held recently, from the 27^th – 30^th of October in San Diego, California. TEDMED celebrates conversations that demonstrate the intersection and connections between all things medical and healthcare related: from personal health to public health, devices to design and Hollywood to the hospital.

Speaking at the conference Ambassador Eric Goosby, the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator for the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, urged attendees not to pursue wireless health services because they are a “shiny new technology” or because they are “innovative, creative and flashy,” but rather because, if they do improve health outcomes for patients, then they should be core tools for medical workers and global health programs.

Also speaking at the conference was Eric Dishman from Intel’s Digital Health Group, who noted the importance of “Behavioural Makers” and made particular reference to the Shimmer platform. Describing Shimmer as a small unit that fits into a pocket and monitors such attributes as hand tremor, gait and stride length. This he noted helps the understanding of how a change in a person’s daily patterns, or characteristic markers, of behaviour could be used for diagnostic purposes.

Paul Jacob’s, CEO of Qualcomm noted that ‘timing couldn’t better for introducing patients to new digital health tools’. Jacob’s demonstrating a number of wireless health monitoring devices and sensors during his presentation, however many saw the highlight to be a Cookie Monster toy that moved around the stage, fell down, and stood back up again. The toy was wearing a Shimmer which allowed for the remote monitoring of the toys activity, and also sent a prompt alert when a fall had been detected.

To read the full on article Eric Dishman’s speech at TEDMED 2009 published in the Scientific American please click here, or to read a brief overview of all the speakers mentioned, please click here.