EVANSTON, Ill. -- Scientists at Northwestern University have developed a wearable device that can spot coronavirus symptoms before the person does.

The wireless sensor monitors coughs, fever and respiratory activity. The hope is that the data can help physicians better understand and treat COVID-19.

It looks like a small band-aid, but researchers say the little silicone patch can detect COVID-19 symptoms and record data right to your smartphone or tablet.

“It's a fully wireless battery-operated device that can communicate with any standard Bluetooth-enabled consumer gadget,” said John Rogers, Bioengineering and Neurological Surgery Professor at Northwestern.

The wireless, rechargeable battery-operated device sits just below the suprasternal notch at the base of the throat. From that location, it monitors coughing intensity, respiratory sounds, heartrate and body temperature.

“It's really that subtle motion of the surface of the skin,” said Rogers. “It's almost like a stethoscope in the way you can think about it, but fully digital and wireless in its operation and continuous, in terms of data collection.”

It can be worn 24/7 and produce continuous streams of data using artificial intelligence. All of that data transmits wirelessly to a HIPPA-protected cloud.

“We can determine not only when a cough occurred but whether that cough is a dry cough or a wet cough or whether you're having coughing fits,” said Rogers.

Scientists say the real-time data streaming from patients can give insights into their health not currently being captured or analyzed by traditional monitoring systems.

Another important feature is decontamination.

“Because it's entirely enclosed without any switches or data ports or any kind of openings, it allows us to do very rigorous sterilization, so we immerse these devices in hot alcohol,” said Rogers.

One thing it cannot do is measure blood oxygenation levels – a potentially important early indicator of the disease. But they say the they plan to add that capability to the next round of devices.

The ultimate goal is to be able to catch COVID-19 symptoms early, better understand its onset and progression, and hopefully save lives.

“What we've been able to do is create very thin lightweight soft device platforms that allow mounting on this very sensitive region of the body in a way that sends essentially physically imperceptible,” said Rogers. “So, you put it on and you kind of forget that it's there”

The next step is to find manufacturing partners to scale up production of the device. Rogers says that depending on volume, it could cost less than $100 per device.

A small device could one day be an alternative to gastric bypass surgery for people who are dangerously overweight.

Researchers at Texas A&M University created the device that is implanted into the patient's stomach. It makes you feel full by using light to stimulate the nerve endings that control hunger.

The device is controlled by a remote source, much like a pacemaker.

The lead researcher behind the device says it could be a safer option than a more invasive surgery.

“Gastric bypass surgery is the most popular approach to treat obesity. The thing is, it’s not a cost-effective solution, plus it involves side effects,” said Sung Il Park at Texas A&M University.

He says his team also gained a better understanding of how our body feels hungry.

Conventional wisdom is when the stomach expands, signals are sent to the brain that a person is full.

Park's team found it is possible to stimulate those nerves to make the body feel full, even when the stomach is empty.

“To be able to activate and manipulate individual neurons, we have to express light sensitive protein to the targeted region. So, such related research is ongoing,” said Park.

He says so far, they haven't found any technical problems with the device.

He says it could be a few years before it might be available for widespread use because they still have more research to do. And then it must go through the Food and Drug Administration’s approval process.

CINCINNATI —

A new cutting edge tool could help police officers navigate tense encounters without using deadly force. The question is why more departments aren't taking advantage of it.

WLWT talked with local police departments considering the BolaWrap.

Wrap Technologies, which sells the device, advertises it as a tool that "safely & humanely restrains resisting subjects from a distance without relying on pain compliance tools."

A BolaWrap is similar in size to a Taser. With one click, the device, which uses a laser to help an officer aim, shoots out an 8-foot kevlar rope. The rope wraps around a subject and hooks on each end are intended to latch onto the person's clothing.

The device is considered nonlethal and is designed to be shot at a person's torso or legs.

Although we found no successful deployments in our region, videos from police departments around the country show the BolaWrap's potential. Police in Minnesota used the device to safely restrain a man who had escaped a hospital while on a mental health hold. Police in Beaufort, South Carolina, brought a man, who was armed with knives, safely into custody. Police in St. Cloud, Florida, successfully detained a man who may have been suicidal. His mother warned officers that he wanted to commit suicide by cop.

"Policing has evolved. Society has evolved. We train in de-escalation every single year, and our deputies utilize it every single day," Lt. Philip Ridgell, spokesman for the Boone County Sheriff's Office. "We're considering the BolaWrap because it will give our deputies a tool that they can use in the field in lieu of going hands on with a passive resistant subject."

Calls related to mental health and the drug crisis are increasing for departments around the country.

"Right now we're averaging one emotional crisis about every 12 hours," Ridgell said.

He said his department is looking for innovative ways to keep passive resistant subjects safe and resolve situations using less force.

Cincinnati police recently tested the devices. A spokesman told WLWT approximately 100 officers were given BolaWraps to test in the field for about six months. There were no deployments.

Chief Eliot Isaac was excited about the non-lethal tool when it was used on him in a demo last summer. The demo was prompted by a near-tragedy in the West End when a Cincinnati police officer unintentionally fired a slug from his shotgun, instead of a beanbag round.

The officer missed a man suffering from a mental health crisis.

Just recently, CPD told WLWT it decided to purchase a handful of BolaWraps, which cost $1,000 apiece, for the SWAT team to carry.

The Hamilton County Sheriff's Office is also preparing to test the device.

Sheriff Charmaine McGuffey has a few questions the department needs to answer.

"Is it going to be effective enough for us to spend that kind of money because it will be quite pricey to outfit a 900 strong department," she said.

Approximately 500 within the sheriff's office are deputies assigned to jail services or patrol. To outfit every deputy with a BolaWrap would cost a half-million dollars. In comparison, the average body camera costs between $400 and $700.

"We're evaluating it to see will it work in the incarcerated environment, which is very unlikely because everything is so closed in there," McGuffey said. "We never know what situation we'll encounter, and people are experiencing a crisis. People do all the time."

Former Cincinnati police Chief Tom Streicher thinks BolaWrap is a no-brainer. He is a consultant for a company that is working with Wrap Technologies.

"Why do we want to use force if we don't have to use force? That's the simple question that needs to be asked," Streicher said. "As soon as they demonstrated the device, the light bulb went on in my head and I thought, 'Here it is. My God. This is the future of policing.'"

Streicher believes the device, in wide use, could prevent tragedies and that makes it worth any financial investment.

"If I'm the police chief, I'm calling for us to advance the use of this new technology (17) and minimize the risk to everyone involved," he said. "If you want to ensure that technology is being used by the agency and it's being used properly, then you give that technology to every single officer who's out in the field."