A user-centered mobile health device to manage life-threatening anaphylactic allergies and provide support in allergic reactions

This paper presents a user-centered mobile health device to help people with life-threatening allergies request emergency services in the case of an anaphylactic attack. The device was designed as a support tool to directly assist anaphylactic people and their carers, as opposed to a medical resource designed for practitioners. It makes use of multimedia technology, for example, with first aid video demonstrations showing how to deliver life-saving adrenaline injections using the injectors typically carried by anaphylactic people. A 3-axis accelerometer mounted on the adrenaline injector sends data via Bluetooth to the Smartphone platform and injections events can be automatically sensed and communicated together with personal information and GPS location. Emergency services can receive an alarm and a Web-based application can show a patient record and provide a map of their location. This paper describes the health management and alarm functions of the device and presents usability test results from real anaphylactic users.