Healthy and smiling, Health Pilot team members are from left to right Richard, Mark, Kevin, and Nathan.

Health Pilot

by John Pokoski

Last November, EE Senior Mark Sinclair stopped by my office to get my opinion. He had recently read in the IEEE Computer Magazine about the first Computer Society International Design Competition (CSIDC). University student groups were to design and implement computer/internet based systems to aid in health care. He wondered if it was a crazy idea for him to get involved. I reminded him of his heavy course load, and of his deep involvement in the robot mouse project. But he was obviously excited about it, so I encouraged him. He then asked if I would serve as faculty mentor.

Mark put the word out through the IEEE student branch, and soon had three tentative volunteers: senior Kevin Meyer, and juniors Nathan Bourgoine and Richard Lynch. We had a meeting to see what was involved and to lay out our ground rules. We found that an application/proposal had to be submitted within a week. If we were one of the fifty schools selected, we would receive a Project Kit which was basically a high performance, embedded computer development system. It consisted of an AMD 350MHz K6-based single board computer, with several layers of memory, and appropriate software. If a prototype was developed and a report submitted, the university could keep the kit. The top ten (judged by the reports) would be invited to Washington, D.C. for a final round of competition. The students decided to make a full commitment. We also decided that if the project was selected, the students would enroll in our project course, with final grade of each student to be decided by a secret vote of the students and mentor.

We were selected. We began meetings in December to determine a specific project. The guidelines only stated that the system should help people become involved in their own health care, and that the project kit, supplemented by no more than $200 in parts, should serve as the prototype for an ultimate small information appliance. About a month was spent in this stage. Many ideas were considered, from diet calorie counters to sleep-apnea detectors. In early January, the kit arrived, and about mid-January, a project was selected. It was to be a system to allow the "patient" to collect and visualize qualitative and quantitative data such as sleep quality and blood pressure. It would also provide information on drugs being taken, along with timed reminders to take the drugs. It would provide secure e-mail style communications with the physician, and allow the physician to query the patient's home health database. Finally, it would provide an emergency 911 alarm for the patient.

This was not easy to decide, let alone do. Mark, as team leader, scheduled weekly meetings to monitor progress, plan, schedule, discuss problems, etc. Richard set up an e-mail messaging and documentation system. A major effort was required to learn the hardware and software of the new kit, and to pick an operating system and appropriate software tools. Each student had different knowledge and preferences, and compromise was required. Individual assignments were made to develop the net server, the drug monitor and reminder, daily questionnaire, etc. Screen and data formats were regular items of discussion. It was decided to add a bar code scanner to directly read the bar codes from pill bottles. A bargain was found on E-bay, and it was quickly purchased (with the aid of Jim Banks' annual project gift) and implemented. A voice synthesis package was also purchased to vocalize messages for the visually impaired. (It was a gas to hear the Heath Pilot say in a robotic voice, "It's time for your medicine!") Finally, software was implemented to plot answers to daily questions, so that, for example, the correlation between daily exercise and sleep quality could be easily seen.

After many all-nighters, Health Pilot was operational. It was formally tested by a group of faculty, staff, and students, and it was demonstrated to the public at a poster session on UNH's undergraduate research day. A final report was written and submitted to CSIDC in May 2000.

The bad news is that Health Pilot was not selected as a finalist. This was a bitter disappointment for me, having seen the sacrifices and toil of the students, and their highly professional end result. It was unbelievable to me that the students could produce a prototype for what I believe is a marketable product in five months while carrying full course loads and outside jobs. On the other hand, the experience of successfully working as a team, under tight time and dollar constraints, will be valuable as well as unforgettable for the students. Moreover, the Department has acquired a sophisticated development system, which will be used many times. Personally, my greatest joy at UNH is to observe self-motivated students working like beavers to accomplish the task at hand. It is even better when it is done unselfishly with a self-deprecating sense of humor. This was the most fun I have had at UNH for quite a while.