This smart ‘band-aid’ could help the world beat Ebola

MASHABLE  by  Lance Ulanoff                                                                   March 14, 2015

AUSTIN — The international fight against Ebola is far from over. Just this week, new patients arrived in U.S. hospitals for treatment. But back in Africa where healthcare workers have battled hundreds of cases at a time, officials are struggling to find smart solutions that can help ensure the safety of caregivers, offer more comprehensive and speedy care and add 21st century solutions to their disease-fighting arsenal.

Wearable technology is very close to joining the fight....

Wendy Taylor, Direct of the USAID Center for Accelerating Innovation holds a MultiSense Memory patch prototype

On Saturday at SXSW, The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) unveiled both a new biomedical suit and the MultiSense Memory wearable sensor:

Even with a new biomedical suit in the wings, doctors in the field still face significant challenges. “Tools are hard to use in an Ebola setting — you can’t use a stethoscope,” said Taylor.

With the MultiSense Memory patch or "smart “Band-Aid,” as Taylor likes to call it, they won’t need a stethoscope. It’s a flexible, sensor-rich-patch that attaches to the sternum of a patient with adhesive (like a Band-Aid), takes a baseline vital rating — heart rate, temp and oxygen saturation -– and then measures all changes from the baseline.

Read complete story.
http://mashable.com/2015/03/14/smart-band-aid-ebola/

Also see: Take a first look at the new generation ebola protection suit
http://qz.com/362384/exclusive-take-a-first-look-at-the-next-generation-ebola-protection-suit/