Certain people have a cardiac condition, which can lead to what is called 'sudden death'. If they are administered a proper sequence of electrical pulses to their heart through electrodes they survive.
Research is currently on in US to provide some kind of tele-medical help to those diagnosed as susceptible to such episodes. They carry a computer and modem as well as a device that monitors their heart rhythm. Whenever an abnormality is detected, the computer alerts the individual, who links up with a phone line. The comp dials the doctor's office, feeds the ECG details into the base comp. The base comp then sends back through the phone line approprate sequence of corrective pulses, which are processed by the patient's comp and fed to the heart through the connected electrodes. The patient then has time to reach the hospital for full care.
The suggestion made now is to make this more automatic. Cell phones now have powerful processors. They also have wireless connectivity. The patient's monitor can directly link with the base comp through the cell phone and go through the sequence without any intervention from the patient. If a geo positioning system is in place the cell phone can also call for an ambulance giving the position of the patient.
If this is feasible for cardiology, why not extend to other situations like strokes?
All required technology exists.
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