AT&T Pushes 'Connected' Clothing For Healthcare 63
gManZboy writes "Babies, athletes, first responders, the elderly — a growing list of people could benefit from connected clothing, says AT&T, which claims 'the stars have aligned' for this technology. Prices of clothing sensors have come down; Wi-Fi and wireless networks have become ubiquitous; and mobile apps have become easier to design and simpler to use. 'For example, parents of babies could cover them in connected clothing to check on their children when they were out of the house ... And relatives of elderly people who are "aging in place" in their homes could check on their vital signs and make sure their loved ones haven't fallen. This could help the elderly stay out of assisted living facilities, as most prefer to do.'"
Yeah, that'll work great... (Score:2, Interesting)
...as long as someone other than AT&T implements it, so those of us who live in the Bay Area or New York City can actually use it.
On a more serious note, if wireless clothing becomes a tool for remotely monitoring medical status, doesn't this open carriers up to potential lawsuits when their network fails and someone dies of treatable maladies as a result?
Framework for better health (Score:4, Interesting)
On the plus side, this also implements a framework for health sensors.
For example, the clothing could have an array of sensors which monitor various aspects of ones health - temperature, blood O2, and heart rate come to mind.
This could be linked to alerts, such as "having a heart attack". Having more information will allow us to better tune our detection criteria, will allow us to detect problems more quickly, and administer emergency care quicker.
Like any technology, can be used for good or bad.
Hey Grandma! (Score:4, Interesting)
In case you were wondering why you haven't seen me in a while in your end stages, you shouldn't worry. Instead of stopping by, or calling... I just checked a quick app on my iphone and it said you were still alive.
Ahem...
There is a point where technology passively degrades your true human values. We've had it for decades, and it will only become more of a burden to be aware of. In all cases, don't forget what really matters --- ease and efficiency may be the ends by which important things, like face to face interaction with loved ones, are lost. Always remember what matters most.