The smartphone camera has meant quite a bit to the larger field of electronics. Some call it a great convenience, others interpret it as the death (or at least marginalization) of the standalone digital camera. But a new patent from Sony suggests that it may well end up doing a lot more than even the greatest proponent of the technology ever thought, sending vital signs with every picture at the press of a button.
The patent in question, recently filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), details technology allowing smartphone users to use cameras in a whole new way. Coupling onto a set of integrated sensors, the camera would be able to tag photos taken with vital sign information like current body temperature, blood pressure, skin conductance, respiratory rate and several others. That information would then be recorded and tagged to individual photos.
Naturally, something like this may seem somewhat short in terms of useful applications—do we really need to know that everyone's heart and respiration rates were sure elevated at that wild party this weekend?--at least until one critical point is noted. Sony’s president and CEO, Kazuo Hirai, was recently heard saying that Sony was “targeting the medical business for mid- to long-term growth.” That's when the scales fall away, so to speak, and the whole thing makes a lot more sense.
Sony isn't necessarily looking to bring this to the consumer smartphone market, but rather, something like this might have a huge potential in the medical field. Consider the possibility of this technology as a tool for first responders, loading someone into an ambulance and snapping a quick photo, then sending that photo ahead to the hospital via standard 3G or 4G LTE connection, giving doctors a chance to actually prepare for a patient exhibiting those particular vital signs. This could shave seconds or even minutes off treatment, increasing the likelihood of success accordingly.
Indeed, Sony's own patent application offers a key point of the value of something like this, saying, “Usually when measuring vital signs, sensors, connected by wires to bulky measuring equipment, have to be placed or used on the person's body. However, in this case the measuring of vital signs has to be done in another way since using cumbersome sensors and measuring equipment is not a viable option.”
Just how Sony can pull this off is as yet unclear—Philips was seen doing something similar not so long ago--but if it has developed something new it may indeed prove useful as not only a standalone medical device but potentially as the kind of technology many mobile carriers would want to license into current devices. Reports going back as far as three years ago suggested that the use of iPads was on the rise in hospitals, as more and more physicians found value in the tablet technology for accessing records. Being able to tie in not only immediate records access but an instant snapshot on demand of current patient vitals might prove an especially valuable combination.
Just when this particular technology will be available—just when the patent will even be granted—is as yet unclear, but should it actually get to shelves, it's likely to find a lot of interested buyers in the medical device sector. Sony certainly needs interested buyers right now in just about anything it can bring out, and something like this may well prove to be the hit it needs.
Edited by
Alisen Downey
