When a medical emergency happens, one thing is certain: time is a precious commodity. That is even truer when the patient is unconscious and not able to provide critically information about their current and past medical issues that could interfere with the outcome of the present emergency. WRIXO aims to solve this issue, without creating new privacy loopholes.
Potential users
There are unfortunately plenty of situations where someone may need to provide several pieces of key information to medical personnel, but may not able to. The longer the medical history and the more potential issues there may be, so senior citizen would probably be the first beneficiary.
Very young kids or adults with conditions that may incapacitate them randomly like seizures would also be unable to communicate with emergency services. Besides those higher-risk groups, everyone who temporarily runs a risk of needing emergency services could benefit as well (hiking, risky situations)
How does it work?
WRIXO is an NFC bracelet (or Tag), but also has a visible QR-code and that is how patients are identified. NFC is a wireless protocol that is embedded in many (most?) recent smartphones and can read information when within an inch. QR-code is a 2D barcode that can contain text information. In both cases, the bracelet would provide some WRIXO user ID that links back to a private user profile. WRIXO can then provide (or deny) access upon a medical request.
The medical personnel could already work with WRIXO and have some pre-existing WRIXO account. It is however not necessary. It is possible for medical workers to request a temporary access PIN that expires after 15mn. That is long enough to get the important information. The bracelet and service are compliant with HIPAA, which is a government standard for medical information access/exchange. It addresses both privacy and security.
Upon getting the bracelet, users create a WRIXO account and pick/fill which information to share. Doctors potentially have access to the platform, although the most common information such as allergies, emergency contacts and more can be entered by the bracelet user (or their guardian).
Hardware: bracelet or Tag
The bracelet and tags are waterproof and use proven technologies. NFC is hardly new, and QR code was invented in the mid-1990s. However, the key here is to design something that is robust enough, low-friction enough and affordable enough to be used by the general public. Additionally, the real value will come from the WRIXO platform which manages the data, and data access.
Both standard and premium editions feature the same hardware, but the premium version includes a subscription to the cloud platform with the possibility of having more information such as prescription history, medical images and more. The Standard version uses the free platform access and allows to store the most frequent medical information. That should work for the overwhelming majority of the possible medical situations.
The IndieGoGo page of WRIXO features deep early user discounts (starting at $20), especially for those who want to get a batch of 3-4 devices. The product is expected to ship to the early backers in November. If you do not know how Indiegogo or crowdfunding works, you should read this page.