Wired has a long piece on how feedback loops (a model for changing human behavior) and relatively cheap sensor technology are going to dramatically alter our lives, and guess what features front and center? That's right, sports fans: healthcare. As an example of the effectiveness of feedback loops, the article highlights a product that reminds patients when to take their medication. 

From the article:

The GlowCap... connects to a database that knows the patient’s particular dosage directions—say, two pills twice a day, at 8 am and 8 pm. When 8 am rolls around, the GlowCap and the night-light start to pulse with a gentle orange light. A few minutes later, if the pill bottle isn’t opened, the light pulses a little more urgently. A few minutes more and the device begins to play a melody—not an annoying buzz or alarm.

If the "melody" ("Fever" by Peggy Lee? "Rockin' Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Flu-Part 1"?) continues to be ignored, the device will send the patient text messages or phone calls to remind them to take their meds.

The article describes feedback loops as "tools" that remind people about things they have to do (or shouldn't be doing) in ways that encourage them to modify their behavior without being either too intrusive or too easily ignored. It's about integrating technology into our lives so that we don't notice when it's helping us. Ever-cheaper sensors are a way to make this possible.

As illustrated by the discussion of the GlowCap, there seem to be plenty of opportunities to apply this kind of thinking and technology in the medical device realm. Do any of you think about feedback loops when designing medical devices? Is this a fad or a sign of the future?

— Thomas Blair