Naval Post-Graduate School Eyes Nano-Patches To Monitor Troop Health

The Naval Post-Graduate School in Monterey, Calif., has kicked off a project to use nano-patches developed by MIT to monitor the health of combat troops.

If troops are wounded, the patches could monitor vital signs, determine the extent of the injuries and transmit that data to nearby field hospitals -- or anywhere else in the world, the Armed Forces Press Service reported.

Alex Bordetsky, an associate professor at the school's Department of Information Sciences, said he envisoned that eventually remote clinicians also would be able to use the patches to administer medications.

If this makes it to the civilian world, maybe it would eliminate many longs waits at the doctor's office and long lines at the drug store.