Cameras and speakers on both ends enable nurse and patient to see and talk to each other during the exam. Icons on the screen tell patients what to do. If they misunderstand or the instructions are too fast, a video clip repeats them until the patients understand what's needed. It works through cable lines retooled to send messages two ways instead of one, which is how television shows are sent to sets. Engineers at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta designed it and now hope to cut the cost by using a television instead of a touchable screen, said Michael Burrow, a senior research engineer at Georgia Tech.
Older folks are just the beginning.
Stachura says it could eventually work for new mothers of premature babies and patients who need reminders to take medicine. The US lags way behind Europe and Japan in the use of smart cards - credit cards with embedded chips. Slip one in, pop the Smarty into a floppy drive, and your PC becomes a bank. There's no need to visit your local branch to add more cash to the card - just download some money from your checking account. Or transmit funds to cover the cost of an online purchase.