Care on the airwaves
Bristol, UK: June 2011
Eighteen months ago it looked as if 83-year-old Sharon Walker would have to sell her house in Somerset and move into a care home. Living alone since her husband died five years ago, she had been diagnosed with diabetes, which complicated an existing heart condition. She remains in her home of 20 years thanks to the UK Community Services’ Carewave IT Program, which monitors Sharon’s conditions remotely.
A wristband that senses and transmits key metabolic data is the key component of Carewave. “It’s waterproof and elastic, so I can shower and do the washing-up with it on,” says Sharon.
She points to a button on the band: “If I press this, it activates an alarm. UK Community Services will call me or send a neighbor around to check I’m all right.”
The Carewave wristband is based on wireless technology and 'smart dust' sensors. The sensors – which can monitor smell, motion and temperature – are part of the network of tiny smart dust motes that communicate wirelessly with each other and with a network installed in Sharon’s house. This leaves her completely free to move normally around the house and garden.
By ‘sniffing’ breath, the wristband sensors can detect higher than expected ketone levels, which in Sharon’s case may help to pre-empt diabetic problems.
Other sensors monitor heart rate and skin temperature: a high heart rate or falling skin temperature can indicate high levels of stress.
Please note: the characters, businesses, corporations and events portrayed in this article are fictitious. Any similarity to any person living or dead, or existing legal entity, is merely coincidental
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