Implantable health sensors being developed to monitor at-home patients

Published May 09, 2013

FoxNews.com

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Scientists in Britain are working to develop a high-tech sensor – capable of being worn on clothing and jewelry or being implanted in the body – that could help doctors or caregivers monitor the health of vulnerable patients, Medical Daily reported.

The system, called Sensor Platform for Healthcare in a Residential Environment (SPHERE), could be used to assist patients who suffer from obesity, depression, stroke, frequent falls, cardiovascular or musculoskeletal diseases.

"Families, carers, health and social services professionals involved in all stages of care will benefit from the system," said lead researcher Professor Ian Craddock, director of the Interdisciplinary Research Collaboration (IRC). "SPHERE will address real world challenges by developing a practical technology to monitor people's health in the home environment."

The technology will compile data by recognizing patterns transmitted through the sensor, detecting minor changes in a patients’ behavior, posture and even whether or not they had taken their medication, Medical Daily reported.

Researchers have been awarded a multi-million dollar grant to develop this inexpensive, accessible system, and they have partnered with technology companies like IBM and Toshiba.

Some British residents have expressed concern over privacy issues related to the device, Medical Daily reported, but researchers insist the technology will offer huge benefits for the country’s aging population.

"Information from these sensors will monitor and track the signature movements of people in their homes and trigger a response in accordance with health needs," Professor William Harwin in the School of Systems Engineering at the University of Reading said. "This will enable health care experts to respond as appropriate."

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FINAL CIVIL WAR BURIAL:Heroes From USS Monitor To Be Buried at Arlington

Two Navy sailors slated for heroes’ burials at Arlington National Cemetery have waited a century and a half for the honor.

The men were among the crew members who perished aboard the legendary Union battleship the USS Monitor, which fought an epic Civil War battle with Confederate vessel The Merrimack in the first battle between two ironclad ships in the Battle of Hampton Roads, on March 9, 1862.

Nine months later, the Monitor sank in rough seas off of Cape Hatteras, where it was discovered in 1973. Two skeletons and the tattered remains of their uniforms were discovered in the rusted hulk of the Union ironclad in 2002, when its 150-ton turret was brought to the surface. The Navy spent most of a decade trying to determine the identity of the remains through DNA testing.

“It’s been interesting to be connected to something so momentous, and we’re looking forward to the ceremony.”

- Diana Rambo, possible descendant of USS Monitor sailor

“These may very well be the last Navy personnel from the Civil War to be buried at Arlington," Navy Secretary Ray Mabus said. “It’s important we honor these brave men and all they represent as we reflect upon the significant role Monitor and her crew had in setting the course of our modern Navy."

Although testing has narrowed the identities of the men down to six, descendants of all 16 soldiers who died when the ship sank are expected at the ceremony. Diana Rambo, of Fresno, Calif., said DNA testing showed a 50 percent chance that one man was Jacob Nicklis, her grandfather’s uncle. A ring on his right finger matched one in an old photograph, adding to the likelihood he was her relative. She plans to be at the cemetery when he is buried.

“It’s been interesting to be connected to something so momentous, and we’re looking forward to the ceremony,” Rambo told FoxNews.com.

She said the development has brought several branches of the family together as they sift through old letters and photos and piece together their shared genealogy. One letter in particular made her long-lost relative seem real.

“I’ve started doing the research, and even read letters he wrote to his father saying he really didn’t want to go,” said Rambo, who was able to tell her 90-year-old mother of the Navy’s revelation a week before her death. “And you think about how many of these kids today are in that situation.”

David Alberg, superintendent of the Monitor sanctuary, pressed for the pair to have Arlington burial honors, as did the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Maritime Heritage Program and descendants of the surviving Monitor crewmembers.

Although most schoolkids learn that the Monitor fought the Merrimack to a draw in 1862, the ship that the Monitor took on was actually dubbed the Virginia, and built on the hull of the U.S. Navy frigate USS Merrimack. Some 16 sailors died when the Monitor sank, while about 50 more crewmembers were plucked from the sea by the crew of the Rhode Island.

Although the Monitor sank soon after the battle, it still outlasted the Virginia, which the Confederates were forced to scuttle in early May. The Monitor sailed up the James River to support the Army during the Peninsula Campaign, taking part in the Battle of Drewry's Bluff before sinking while being towed during a storm off the Carolina coast. The ship’s gun turret, engine and other relics are on display at the Mariners' Museum in Newport News, Virginia.

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