This Wristband Can Save Your Life – and Your Workout

Now here's an innovation I can get behind: an ID bracelet that's also an e-wallet. It's perfect for my current favorite participation sport: running.

The bracelet that people with rare or otherwise notable medical conditions wear is familiar, as is the purpose: These people wear these bracelets so that communication can be done for them if they are incapacitated. In other words, if someone suffers bad reactions to a certain kind of drug, then medical professionals certainly shouldn't be administering that drug in response to the person's passing out cold on the floor.

So that's all well and good because it will keep someone alive in the event of their not being able to warn against certain treatments and such. A couple of entrepreneurs, though, have taken this step a bit further.

Their innovation (and sadly, no actual pictures are available so the generic one at right will have to do) is indeed a medical-profile wristband, onto which a number will be emblazoned. That number will be linked to a database that contains the medical profile that the wristband-wearer approves, alerting other people to such things as name, emergency contact's name and phone number, name of the person's doctor, and even the name of the person's insurance company. Fantastic! The only hiccup is that the only thing on the wristband is an ID number. You have to access the database to retrieve the medical information. But that is to ensure the security of the wristband-wearer in all but emergencies.

The other, more innovative part of this wristband is an embedded RFID chip that can be linked to a debit account. In effect, the wristband becomes an e-wallet. Again for security reasons, the e-wallet account is to be capped at $200. Wave the RFID chip in front of a compatible e-reader and your account is debited enough cash to cover your current need (chips and salsa, Gatorade, etc.).

These two elements together add up to a perfect thing for an athlete to carry, especially a person who often trains by himself or herself and/or is sometimes to be found training far from civilization. Common needs for athletes far from civilization are medical help, of course, but also sustenance in the form of food and drink. Many runners, especially, don't make a habit of carrying a wallet or purse with them or a credit card; if they do carry money, mostly, it's small bills, not usually enough to pay for necessary things like a taxi or more than three bottles of Gatorade. (Sometimes, you just really get thirsty.)

This is not to trivialize medical needs because they can be great, especially if you're in the middle of nowhere and you happen to get hit by a car. The medical information on this new wristband will be vital in that case. Thankfully, situations like these are far outweighed by situations involving an athlete's needing to spend money to refuel, without necessarily having the means to do so.

For both of these reasons, sign me up.