Most often when we hear about wristband wearables, it’s for a consumer product to count steps, measure heart rate, send and receive messages and alerts, and even tell time. As wearable devices gain functions, accuracy, and wireless communications, however, an obvious application is for use in hospitals or other healthcare facilities. Medical and care staff need to monitor quantities of patients, especially if those under care aren’t hooked up with wires and tubes in a room or ward but moving around a facility. They need systemsto keep track not only of where people are but also how they’re doing.
Sidly has released Sidly-Care to help doctors and other caregivers keep track of patients. The Sidly-Care system includes medical grade silicon plastic wristbands with multiple on-board functions and a continuous wireless monitoring system that sends readings wirelessly to facility and system computers or mobile devices. Sidly-Care is not in use in U.S. hospitals yet, but has CE approval for use in Europe.
The wristband sensors monitor heart rate, temperature, location, steps, and falls. There are audio and visual cues to tell patients when it’s time to take medication, an alert button marked in Braille for the patient to use in an emergency, and location tracking via an onboard GPS. The band can also send an alert to caregivers if it is removed.
While consumers in the general population might not yet be ready for 24/7 tracking reminiscent of Fahrenheit 451 or The Matrix, the responsibilities, liabilities, and concerns of medical facilities charged with the care and well-being of patient populations can benefit from and will likely increasingly utilize Sidly-Care or systems like it to track and monitor their clientele.
