20 June 2011 - Ford announced SYNC platform has entered a collaboration with medical device maker Medtronic, mHealth pioneer WellDoc and SDI Health that will eventually lead to the integration of medical-related features into SYNC. And the starting points of these new features are two of the most common conditions affecting the Americans: diabetes and asthma and/or allergies.
Ford is yet to come up with a name for the project, one that, even if proved viable, has little chance of getting into your future Ford sometime in the near future. Even so, the research might be the building block of integrated medical services in the vehicles of tomorrow. The group working on the project is using SYNC because the platform allows for a wide range of connectivity applications, starting with Bluetooth integration and ending with cloud-based Internet services.
The main reason the project kicked off was the knowledge that the interest for such services is widespread among Americans. A study conducted by the CTIA-The Wireless Association and Harris Interactive showed that 78 percent of US consumers expressed interest in mobile health solutions, making medical and healthcare apps the third fastest-growing category of smartphone applications last year. Ford relies on the SYNC's ability to connect to the Internet for its new features to work properly. Using the Bluetooth, medical devices can be connected to the car and allowed to share information through SYNC.
Glucose monitoring: Working with Medtronic, a leading manufacturer of glucose monitoring devices, Ford researchers have developed a prototype system that allows Ford SYNC to connect via Bluetooth to a Medtronic continuous glucose monitoring device and share glucose levels and trends through audio and a center stack display and provide secondary alerts if levels are too low.
Allergy alerts: Ford is working with SDI Health and www.pollen.com to SYNC-enable its smartphone Allergy Alert app through AppLink, giving users voice-controlled access to the app that provides location-based day-by-day index levels for pollen; asthma, cold and cough and ultraviolet sensitivity; as well as four-day forecasts.
WellDoc: Ford and WellDoc, a recognized leader in the emerging field of mHealth integrated services, have joined forces to integrate in-car accessibility to WellDoc’s comprehensive cloud-based personalized solutions for those with asthma and diabetes through SYNC Services. Using voice commands, SYNC users could access and update their WellDoc profile to receive real-time patient coaching, behavioral education and medication adherence support based on their historic and current
Source: Autoevolution
