T-Mobile supports wearable sleep monitoring treatment app

Sara Ver-Bruggen - 17 Oct 2011

In the US T-Mobile is supporting a wearable electronic, wireless sleep tracking kit based on printed electronics circuitry.

SleepTrak is a credit card-sized wireless device worn on the arm, and a free application, which enables users to collect and transfer data concerning their sleep patterns and symptoms, as a means to monitor potential sleep disorders.

Users remove the card in the morning, tap it to their phone and upload the data collected during the night to their phone to interpret the data.

The kit has been developed by US private healthcare provider Meridian Health and Impak Health, a joint venture company co-founded by Meridian and Swedish technology company Cypak.

The data can be sent wirelessly via T-Mobile's nationwide 4G network on Nokia Astound smartphones for the network provider, which also uses AMOLED displays in its products.

Near-field communication

The new SleepTrak system uses near-field communication (NFC), a two-way RFID communication technology designed to enable simplified data exchange and wireless connection between devices over a short distance. NFC has driven the adoption of mobile payment systems, and developers are now targeting opportunities in telemedicine.

Sleep disorders and related conditions are on the increase and the SleepTrak kit has been developed to help treat conditions without overburdening healthcare services.

Impak and Meridian Health are introducing similar simple-to-use kits to screen, diagnose and monitor a range of disorders and illnesses, including diabetes, pain and also weight management, which were introduced earlier in 2011.

Cypak has been involved from an early stage in the printed electronics industry, targeting healthcare and telemedicine opportunities with its technology. Initial adopters include Stora Enso, which launched medicine compliance packaging - to record patients taking their tablets - based on discrete printed circuitry in the packaging connected to a small chip, both developed by Cypak.

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