3. KEEPING AN EYE ON HEALTH
Implantable devices may include a radio-frequency ID chip under the skin that holds a patient’s medical records, or a subcutaneous sensor that could continuously monitor blood chemistry. Ingestible devices in capsules will deploy once swallowed to perform tasks in the gastrointestinal system, from delivering treatment to isolating foreign objects.
4. ROBOT UNFOLDS, GOES TO WORK
A monitoring patch on a pregnant woman’s belly can detect uterine muscle movement, the better to know when labor is progressing. Later, parents can keep a digital eye on their infant via a baby cam that charts the infant’s respiration on the screen and sends an alert if the baby stops breathing. There’s even high-tech help for developing preemies: headphones play music calibrated to soothe or stimulate, and scans check brain waves to see whether it’s working.