Ford’s engineers in Germany have developed a prototype seat that can passively monitor a driver’s heat activity while they’re behind the wheel. The researchers hope that in time, if the system is widely adopted, the technology could significantly reduce the number of accidents and fatalities that occur as a result of motorists having heart attacks behind the wheel.
Aside from informing you when you’re having a heart attack – and you probably don’t need a little warning light next to the ‘check engine’ light to tell you that – the seat can monitor blood pressure, electrolyte imbalances and other triggers which may cause a driver to loose consciousness or control of their vehicle due to a sudden-onset heart problem. When you read the numbers, you get an idea of how serious the problem can be. For high-risk drivers the possibility of a hear-attack induced car accident is considerably higher. Drivers suffering from cardiovascular disease were, on average, 23 per cent more likely to be involved in a road accident. For drivers who suffered from angina, this figure grew to 52 per cent.
The seat uses six built-in ECG (electrocardiograph) sensors that can detect heart activity through the driver’s clothing. Fortunatley. Dr. Achim Lindner, Ford Research Centre medical officer commented on the new seat. “The system will be able to detect if someone is having a cardiovascular issue, for example a heart attack, and could also be used to detect the symptoms of other conditions such as high blood pressure or electrolyte imbalances. This not only benefits the driver; but also could make the roads safer for all users.”
Ford is also testing the prototype seat to understand how it could work with other advanced systems within Ford vehicles to warn a driver to pull over and seek medical attention, or possibly even send out an alert to emergency medical workers if necessary. That would be an extremely worthwhile and desirable option for any new-car buyer with a long history of heart problems.
“Although currently still a research project, this technology could prove to be an important breakthrough,” said Lindner. “As always in medicine, the earlier a condition is detected the easier it is to treat, and this technology even has the potential to be instrumental in diagnosing heart conditions early.”
Source: Ford
Now your car know exactly how much fun it is to be driven.