Healthwear: Medical Technology Becomes Wearable

T he concept of computing is rapidlyexpanding from simply using a desktopPC, where people sit and type for a smallpart of the day. Every day, more than onebillion people carry around portable com-putation devices that have sensors and Internet-capable connections—but we call them cell phones rather than computers. The most recent cell phones go far beyond tele-phony: They are truly wearable computers. These location-aware devices have sensors for detecting sounds, images, body motion, and ambient light level, have a secure Internet connection, and can download and upload programs as well as audio and image files. They also can serve as a situation-aware intelligent assistant, whether as personal agents that use the digital equivalent of 3M’s Post-it notes to augment reality or as a means of forming tight-knit intellectual collectives in which people can supercharge their social networks. As part of this change in the way we use com-puters, my research group at the MIT Media La