|
BEYOND THE HOSPITAL
HOSPITALS may not yet have created any cures for cancer or discovered the elixir for eternal youth but they will soon be able to free patients from their antiseptic confines.
 One invention to bring that about is a wireless and portable electrocardiogram (ECG) device, which has been developed by A*Star to monitor heart rates while patients go about normal day-to-day activities.
The device is attached to a patient’s body and sends ECG signals to a personal server or a mobile phone, which then transmits the information to a centralised database for a doctor to interpret.
The technology can be extended to monitor other vital signs such as temperature, blood pressure, respiration rate and readings that measure the amount of oxygen in the bloodstream.
It can also be used in space to track the health of pilots or tourists on commercial space flights, once they become available.
For now, the technology could be developed further to help with medical emergencies on regular long-haul flights.
 On-the-go devices are also available for moreprosaic ailments such as flu.
At present, sniffling patients have to report to a clinic or hospital to be tested for influenza, where their swab samples are collected and sent to centralised laboratories to be processed.
This is a time-consuming and laborious procedure.
But a newly developed mobile influenza test kit can test for flu much more quickly and safely.
All that is needed is for the patient’s nasopharyngeal swab sample – a swab taken from the uppermost part of the throat behind the nose – to be inserted into a cartridge in the kit.
The system will automatically prepare the sample and offer a diagnosis within 21/2 hours, according to A*Star, the creator of the system.
|