Hospital to try out data bracelet created by schoolgirls

Two teenagers who created a high-tech bracelet for storing patient data are in talks with a hospital about trialling the device.

Already winners in two categories at the Young Scientist Awards this year, Alaidh Fox and Deirdre Hughes addressed the Future Health Summit in Dublin this week.

After their presentation, they were approached by Margaret Swords from Aut Even Hospital in Kilkenny.

‘I was very impressed with them and the innovation of their devices. I have offered to meet them to discuss their project further,’ she told the Irish Mail on Sunday.

The bracelets use radiofrequency identification technology to store a patient’s entire medical history in one place. They can be scanned by medics or plugged into a computer.

Ms Hughes said: ‘It’s called a Hox-band. It’s safer and quicker than telling the doctor everything yourself.’

The girls, from Coláiste Bhaile Chláir, Claregalway, said the bracelets cost about 70c each to manufacture and they hope the HSE might eventually take them on.