Automobile manufacturers now provide a wealth of comfort and safety features in today’s cars to make driving almost a stress-free experience. Stress-free within the car, that is, not what may happen outside in traffic. With multispeaker audio systems, fully programmable seats, backup cameras, automatic parallel parking, hands-free phone service, collision-avoidance systems, and GPS, drivers and passengers are immersed in a cocoon of high-class luxury and convenience.
However, not taken into account with all of these systems is the current health of the driver. Is the driver experiencing the first signs of a heart attack, lightheadedness from a diabetic condition, or an asthma attack because of high levels of pollen in the area? Obviously, it’s important to get help or take the appropriate medications to alleviate the condition. Of course, the driver may not be fully aware of what’s happening physically, and that’s where Ford Motor Company is directing R&D into the early detection of a heart attack.
Ford’s European Research Centre in Aachen, Germany, in collaboration with Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule, Aachen University, has developed a prototype vehicle seat that can monitor the driver’s heart rate. Attached to the back of the seat are six sensitive sensors to detect heart rate, even through clothing. The sensors are the result of work done at the university to provide noninvasive monitoring of a baby’s heart. The system can detect irregularities in heart rate, precursors to a possible heart attack, allowing the motorist to seek medical attention. Ford has reported very accurate heart-rate readings for drivers who took part in early testing of the system.
With the Ford SYNC® and MyFord Touch™ in vehicles, the system can send a message on the mobile phone to alert medical personnel of the problem. Also, the system can alert emergency medical technicians even before an accident should the driver subsequently suffer a heart attack and need to be transported to a hospital. Other health and wellness projects underway at Ford include glucose monitoring, allergy alerts, and high blood pressure warning. The car company is working with Medtronic on a prototype system that provides continuous glucose monitoring and alerts medical personnel if the level deviates from acceptable limits.
As for allergies, the company is partnering with SDI Health and www.pollen.com to provide daily location-based pollen index levels along with UV readings so drivers can avoid these harmful environmental areas. Also, in collaboration with WellDoc®, a health services provider, Ford provides access to WellDoc’s personalized service so drivers with asthma and diabetes can access the site to receive real-time information based on their current health condition.
Ford also is exploring areas beyond the traditional health-related issues into the wellness arena with relaxation and stress-reduction studies. The company, working with MIT, has been looking at the correlation between stress and driving performance. The research study showed that drivers who had such options as park assist and cross-traffic alert were less stressed than drivers without these conveniences.
I, for one, can’t wait until I climb into my vehicle of tomorrow to learn the up-to-date state of my health. As the automatic seat belt fastens around me and I feel some pressure as the seat adjusts to my body, I glance at the display in the dash as it spews out a plethora of information on my medical condition. Heart rate, respiration, indicators to a possible heart attack, glucose levels, recent caloric intake, mental acuteness, hearing level, vision check, and stress indicators are some of the data presented to me. Within a moment, my doctor’s image appears on the display and gives a thumbs-up to start my day’s activities.
Paul Milo
Editorial Director
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