Chevy had the full “Heartbeat of America” thing cornered inside the 80s, but now its Ford’s turn to get in at the action. The auto maker’s European research team unveiled a prototype car seat in a position to monitoring a driver’s heart courtesy of six embedded electrodes, that may take measurements without coming in direct contact with skin. The technology, the newest in a up to date string of health-related in-vehicle concepts from the corporate, can detect whether the motive force is having a heart attack and transmit that information to the vehicle’s safety system. In keeping with the researchers, the system is already highly accurate in its prototype state, making correct readings for 98 percent of drive time with 95 percent of the drivers tested. For more info at the system, check the video and press release after the break.
Ford Researchers Develop Car Seat That Monitors Drivers’ Heart ActivityAACHEN, Germany, May 24, 2011 – Ford Motor Company’s advanced research engineers have developed a prototype vehicle seat that may monitor a driver’s heart activity and will at some point reduce the collection of accidents and fatalities that occur due to motorists having heart attacks behind the wheel.
Engineers from Ford’s European Research Centre in Aachen, Germany, working closely with Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule, Aachen University, launched into the project to handle a frequently forgotten traffic safety issue – accidents triggered by drivers who experience cardiovascular disease.
The prototype Ford seat employs ECG (electrocardiograph) technology that monitors the heart’s electrical impulses and detects signs of irregularity which could provide an early warning that a driver should seek medical advice, because he could be impacted by a heart attack or other cardiovascular issues. Whereas an ordinary ECG machine in a doctor’s office requires metal electrodes to be attached to the surface at various points at the body, the Ford ECG seat has six built-in sensors which can detect heart activity throughout the driver’s clothing.
“The system can be capable of detect if someone is having a cardiovascular issue, as an instance a heart attack, and will even be used to detect the indicators of alternative conditions corresponding to hypertension or electrolyte imbalances,” said Dr. Achim Lindner, Ford Research Centre medical officer. “This not just benefits the driving force; but in addition can make the roads safer for all users.”
Research by the Impaired Motorists, Methods of Roadside Testing and Assessment for Licensing project, a 3-year European Union research programme, found that drivers stricken by heart problems were, on average, 23 per cent likely to be concerned with a road accident. For drivers who suffered from angina, this figure grew to 52 per cent.
With 23 per cent of Europe’s population expected to be 65-years or older by 2025, and 30 per cent by 2050, the collection of drivers susceptible to heart attacks is probably going to rise considerably inside the coming decades.
Ford can be testing the prototype seat to grasp the way it could work with other advanced systems within Ford vehicles to warn a driver to drag over and seek medical attention, or possibly even send out an alert to emergency medical workers if necessary.
Lindner said the cellphone could play a key role because the interface for any future application of the technology. Connected to a system including Ford SYNC with MyFord Touch, using arrive in Europe in 2012, the Ford heart rate monitoring seat potentially could use the driver’s cell phone to send a message to medical centres, alerting doctors to irregular heart activity. The seat also may be associated with SYNC’s Emergency Assistance function to tell emergency response teams of the driver’s heart condition before, during and after an accident.
Ford is exploring how advanced safety technologies consisting of Lane Departure Warning with Lane Keeping Aid, Active City Stop and Speed Limiter could interact with the center rate monitoring seat to assist protect drivers in cases where they experience cardiovascular disease.
Ford’s engineers are also studying how the guts monitoring seat may be used to watch heart patients and make allowance doctors to keep up a record of heart activity which might be transmitted to doctors and decrease the will for visits to the hospital.
“Although currently still a research project, this technology could prove to be an ideal breakthrough,” said Lindner. “As always in medicine, the sooner a condition is detected the simpler it’s to regard, and this technology even has the capability to be instrumental in diagnosing heart conditions early.”
Ford researchers was working since early 2009 to evolve the contactless ECG technology developed by Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule, Aachen University.
“The Ford seat is a natural progression from our work on contactless ECG monitoring equipment and gives a thrilling potential real-world benefit,” said Professor Steffen Leonhardt of Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule, Aachen University. “Because the population in Europe and world wide ages, more older people would be behind the wheel and the security risks increase. This technology holds the promise of saving lives and making the roads safer.”
In early tests, the Ford heart monitoring seat has recorded accurate readings during 98 per cent of driving time for 95 per cent of drivers. Ford’s research engineers are continuing to review how sensors may be made to record signals through a better variety of materials including people who interrupt readings with their very own electrical activity.
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