JUNIOR RASHID SHAFEER CS 7 – 7509 YCET

CONTENTS o EVOLUTION o OVERVIEW o PROMISES AND POTENTIAL o REALITY o ANALYSIS o CONCLUSION o REFERENCES

EVOLUTION OF ST-WBS Challenge to minimize the loss of human life on the battle field DARPA funded research carried out at Georgia Institute of Technology Sensate Liner for Casualty Care : First wearable motherboard / intelligent garment Smart Shirt : Versatile framework for sensing, monitoring and information processing devices

ST-WBS : An Overview The unit operations associated with the system are : Sense/Observe Process/Transmit Interpret/Diagnose Respond/Learn

Promise and Potential of ST-WBS Smart Shirt opened up entirely new frontiers in civilian healthcare and telemedicine The healthcare industry’s challenge is to balance cost containment with maintenance of desired patient outcomes. A demand for portable, versatile medical devices Smart Shirt enables the physician to interact effectively, efficiently, and continuously with any patient at anytime

To enhance the quality of life for individuals Provides a natural interface Offers a sense of security To transform healthcare monitoring and delivery as is being currently practiced “Doing well by doing good”

Reality Since 1990 considerable amount of research has been going on in this field The European Commission (EC) has been a major source of funding research in this area More than 35 EC projects with an approximate total funding of €60 million (1999 – 2002) These projects follows 2 complementory approaches : Application Pull Technology Push

Major prototype systems and applications include : Continuous measurement and control of glucose concentration in subjects Personal ECG monitoring for early detection and management of cardiac events A wrist multi sensor device for continuous monitoring of health status and alert A personal mobile health service platform for vital signs monitoring based on body area network An ambulatory bio-sensing microsystem for continuous evaluation of organ feasibility

In the area of ST-WBS, the EC has funded projects that have led to the following key developments. VTAMN WEALTHY MagIC MyHeart

According to Venture Development Corporation, the global market for Wearable biophysical monitoring systems is expected to grow to $265 million by 2007 A robust textile-based wearable biomedical system is yet to enter the marketplace To realize its initial goal of enhancing the quality of life for individuals The transition from research to reality has been rather painfully slow

Analysis Technology Success Factors The success of any product in the market depends on : Its effectiveness in successfully understanding the user’s needs and meeting them Reduction in the cost of current solutions or technologies it aims to supplant Improvement in the quality of service Enhancement of the user’s convenience.

In addition, the adoption of an innovative product is affected by the following factors : Relative Advantage Compatibility Complexity Observability Trialability

Analysis of the Major Facets The first step in the analysis is to frame a set of questions that must be addressed from the various viewpoints : Articulation of Need Clinical Effectiveness of the Technology Cost-Benefits Analysis Enhanced Convenience Improvement in Quality of Care

Result of Analysis It has been explored that each of the facets related to the transition of ST-WBS from research to the marketplace All the facets and the stakeholders must come together for the ST-WBS technology to become a reality in the marketplace

A Plan Of Action The critical step in transitioning ST-WBS to the marketplace is to demonstrate the overarching “value” of the technology Demonstration of Value of ST-WBS: The three essential steps to demonstrate the value of STWBS are : 1) Establish the robustness of the various components of the ST-WBS and finalize system 2) Demonstrate the clinical effectiveness of ST-WBS 3) Conduct a holistic cost–benefit analysis

A Call To Action The venture engaged in enhancing the quality of life for individuals by delivering such systems to the market can indeed be profitable in the long run The successful realization of the technology requires the integration of multiple building blocks of technologies and expertise It calls for a bold commitment on the part of the commercializing entity to bring these seemingly disparate organizations together and make it happen

Conclusion The challenge to minimize the loss of human life on the battlefield turned out to be the trigger for the birth of ST-WBS An ST-WBS fulfills need by enabling the physician to interact effectively, efficiently, and continuously with any patient at anytime, and who might be anywhere Despite the promise and potential, an ST-WBS is yet to enter the marketplace

All the facets and the stakeholders must come together for the ST-WBS technology to become a reality in the marketplace It calls for a bold commitment on the part of the commercializing entity to bring these seemingly disparate organizations together and make it happen A visionary approach coupled with operational excellence is indeed needed to transition the ST-WBS technology from research to reality