We all likely know someone who wears a wristband to alert medical professionals of any allergies or chronic diseases in case of an emergency. These wristbands are an old-fashion way to make sure that anyone who needs to assist you, has all of your important vitals at their disposal by reading the band on your wrist.
One team from Cyprus, who is competing in Microsoft"s 2013 Imagine Cup competition, has created a solution that takes these wristbands and brings them into the 21st century. Team Nudge from Cyprus developed a wristband that stores all of your medical information and it can be accessed with a Windows Phone that has NFC capability.
The inspiration for the team came from their colleague who wears a medical bracelet that alerts medical professionals to their chronic diseases/allergies in case of an emergency. By creating a new band that has NFC capabilities, the transmission of information from the band to the caregiver takes only a few seconds and can provide significantly more detail about the individuals medical needs than the existing solution.
The idea is quite simple, if you have need to wear a medical wristband you can input your information into an NFC capable band whose information can be accessed by a Windows Phone. The information can then be distributed to the necessary parties to make sure you receive the proper medical care.
Microsoft"s Imagine Cup is all about taking existing technologies and finding new uses that serve the greater community. Team Nudge is one of the many teams that will be headed to worldwide finals in Russia and if you want to read more about the teams headed to the finals, follow this link.