Teenagers and adults alike use social media to communicate, show frustration, make themselves feel better, throw shade and make the universal statement, ” OMG I can’t believe he/she is going out with that person.” The question many of us ask is, are we using tech apps for the greater good?
Giulia DeVita, a senior at Holy Child, is attempting to do just that. The ambitious teenager, through her school’s E.E Ford Engineering For the Common Good program, has set out to develop a smartphone app that can detect a stroke.
DeVita, 17 who excels in math wanted to embark on a senior project that would use technology to alert health attacks. Her grandmother passed away from a major stroke recently, and this tragedy gave her the idea for medical prevention.
While this app is far from being market ready, the prototype outlines what this groundbreaking med-tech device can do to signal a stroke, which affects nearly 800,000 people a year.
The smartphone app connects to a device that is implanted in the body, most prevalent in people who have experienced heart attacks in the past. Blood flow levels transmit along with signs of blood clotting. When troublesome levels occur, a signal to the app alerts the person to call a doctor or go to the hospital.
Giulia enlisted the help of the American Heart Association and a family member currently at Harvard Medical School to assist in the research.
Snapchat serves some purpose, but still, some people search for the greater good.
