GPS Shoe

Wireless bio-monitoring, first used in human beings for fetal heart-rate monitoring more than 30 years ago, has now become a technology for remote sensing of patients’ activity. Technical advances in miniaturization and wireless communications have enabled development of monitoring devices that can be made available for general use by individuals/patients and caregivers. Applications range from monitoring high risk patients for heart and respiratory activity and falls to sensing levels of physical activity in military, rescue, and sports personnel. The range of measurements include heart rate, pulse waveform, respiratory rate, blood oxygen saturation, tissue pCO2, exhaled carbon dioxide, physical activity, strain in orthopedic devices, intracorporal pressure, and gastrointestinal lumen visualization.

Even soldiers in the French army will have their heart rate, blood pressure and other vital signs monitored by telemetry as part of the next-gen combat suit due around 2015. The system will now include a health-status uplink so field commanders can check on the readiness status of their troops in real time.