Student creates app for vets to prevent night terrors
Tyler Skluzacek was in sixth grade when his father, Sgt. 1st Class Patrick Skluzacek, was deployed to Iraq for a year. When he came back, he struggled with night terrors, which according to the Mayo Clinic, "are episodes of screaming, intense fear and flailing while still asleep."
By tracking heart rate and movement for a few weeks, the app "can find the exact symptoms of the onset of the panic attack," Tyler explains. Then, when those symptoms are detected, the app uses the smartwatch or smartphone to which it is connected to disrupt the pattern via sound or vibration, taking the soldier out of a deep sleep but keeping him or her asleep, Tyler says.
The myBivy (short for "bivouac") app earned Tyler and his team top prize in the Best Mobile Application for Clinicians category. The team was awarded $1,500.
Good job.
Posted by: Sven the pelter 2015-10-21 |