Vital Positioning System (VPS) is a wireless Bluetooth-based cardiac alert system that is integrated into a cell phone or PDA and is linked to GPS. The system is designed to automatically alert emergency services as soon as it detects ischemic changes. According to Medical Intelligence, the Quebec-based company that has developed this product, “VPS even has self-learning artificial intelligence that can detect the precursory signs of a heart attack and alert emergency services BEFORE it occurs“.
From the Medical Intelligence web site:
The VPS system is miniaturized and comes with an elastic belt worn at the waist or abdomen using no adhesive. This belt integrates a wireless digital ECG, cardiac activity sensors, a small GPS and a simple Bluetooth transmitter (2.4 Ghz) that sends data to the phone or pocket pc. The belt can operate up to 100 yds. (300 ft) from the phone. The cellphone or pocket pc is inserted into a base that holds the VPS software, complementary telecommunications peripherals and artificial intelligence.
The VPS system is miniaturized and comes with sensors (that could one day be subcutaneous) that send continuous ECG data to the patient’s cellphone or pocket pc. Using Windows, our cardiac data management system continuously stores data from our wireless digital ECG including exact times and results. This gives the treating physician and the patient a clearer picture of the activities leading to complications, thereby facilitating diagnosis and maximizing treatment. Far exceeding simple pulse rate, this system could have applications in a number of markets.
CTV.ca has a story and a 30-second video demonstrating the system.