Ford To Take The Pulse Of America

By drodriguez May 28, 2011

The Ford Motor company is now working to make life a little safer for drivers who suffer from heart conditions. A recent report from USA Today details the work that one of Ford’s German research teams has done. The team has developed car seats with six built-in sensors that monitor a driver’s heart rate while operating the vehicle.

The purpose of these seats would be to assist a driver in monitoring their heart rate and possibly even signal an early heart attack. It may sound strange, but this is not the first time the car company has researched the development of in-vehicle health equipment.

Other health extras that are in development are glucose monitors for diabetic drivers and a pollen count that would be on the dashboard’s display for those suffering from asthma.

Though the new research and development coming from Ford Motors is interesting, some are a little unsure of whether or not a heart monitor would benefit drivers all that much. Chief of cardiology at Johns Hopkins, Gordon Tomaselli, expressed concern that this might not be as useful as it sounds. Tomaselli says, “Anybody who requires minute-by-minute monitoring probably shouldn’t be driving.”

Would you be more inclined to purchase a car with a built-in heart monitor?

What are the safety features that are most important to you when you're car shopping?