Ford Motor Company joins with Microsoft, Healthrageous and BlueMetal Architects to study how connected devices can help people monitor and maintain health & wellness. “People are spending more time in their cars, and with the tremendous growth in mobile healthcare solutions, Ford is dedicated to understanding the value of being able to connect to health and wellness-related services while driving,” said Gary Strumolo, manager of Infotainment, Interiors, Health and Wellness at Ford Research and Innovation. “Our connectivity platform  Ford SYNC , provides easy, voice-controlled access to mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets, and therefore it makes sense to research areas that are important to our customers.”

As people spend more time in their cars, the ability to manage health and wellness on the go becomes more important. There are several reasons why the automobile is an ideal platform for research and development in this area:

• It’s convenient and private
• It facilitates personalized access to the information, products and services people need
• And it’s a logical place for them to manage their health while they are more often stuck in traffic

The goal is to figure out how to extend health management into the personal vehicle in a nonintrusive fashion.

How does it work?

The system would capture biometric and vehicle data as the basis for real-time health and wellness advice and monitoring. The driver can also tell the app aspects of his or her health routine  such as the number of glasses of water consumed during the day, or what pills have been taken. That information is then uploaded into Microsoft’s HealthVault personal health record platform, processed with other health data, and used to create graphical reports the driver can access after having left the vehicle. The technology is not considered a medical device nor intended to be a diagnostic tool.