Toyota developing steering wheel that measures the heartbeat of the driver to prevent crash during a heart attack


Toyota showed some of its up and coming safety innovations in a demonstration to reporters Thursday at its facility in this town, west of Tokyo, near Mount Fuji. Sudden cardiovascular irregularity (such as ventricular fibrillation) while driving can cause a driver to lose consciousness, thus creating a potentially dangerous situation. Toyota’s newly developed emergency-response technology is the result of research on a system to monitor cardiovascular functions through the driver’s grasp of the steering wheel and to detect risks. By conducting further research, Toyota aims to commercialize a system that can contribute to the prevention of major accidents caused by sudden changes in the driver’s physical condition.
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Toyota plans to publicly exhibit details of its research at the 28th General Assembly of the Japan Medical Congress starting on April 2 at the Tokyo Big Sight exhibition center in Odaiba, Tokyo.