New technology products and developments can have a huge impact on our lives. It has a huge influence on the way you shop, how you communicate with friends, the job you do, or the way you travel. Technology has changed our behaviour. Look at healthcare – breakthroughs in information gathering, research, treatments, and communications have given healthcare practitioners new tools to work.
The Nominet Trust recently highlighted technology helping people with health and social difficulties. Here are a few examples:
- A cuddly toy bear is helping children newly diagnosed with type 1 diabetes learn how to manage their condition. Sensors on Jerry’s paws let children check blood sugar levels
- Liftware Spoon reduces shaking for people with Parkinson’s disease. The Liftware utensil uses accelerometer sensors in its detachable handle to detect hand tremors. These identify the direction and force of a tremor, while actuators move the spoon in the opposite direction to compensate.
- The Casserole Club uses technology to rekindle connections between neighbours to share food. It pairs up a neighbour who cooks with an elderly or disabled neighbour who could do with a home-cooked hot meal, rather like an online dating site. This online service aims to prevent loneliness and malnutrition.
- Smart Glasses/Wearable technology allows visually impaired people to see. The glasses use 3D cameras to greatly enhance what little they can already see through a computer and this is projected on to lenses. The result is that close-up objects and people go from being dark, indefinable blobs to outlined, cartoonised images.
What examples of technology in healthcare or education have you seen?
The views expressed in the blog do not necessarily represent the views of ASLTIP. Publication does not imply endorsement.
