Minnesota Kid Creates App To Help People Suffering With PTSD
Tyler Skluzacek is from Londsdale, Minnesota, and just recently graduated from Macalester College. He's responsible for creating the app "MyBivy" which took first place at a coding competition in Washington DC.
The app was designed to help military vets with PTSD. According to WCCO who spoke with Tyler, his dad is an Iraq war veteran who suffered from night terrors. He says since his dad has been using MyBivy, his night terrors have decreased from as many as 2-3 per night, to 1 or 2 per month.
How it works: It is a smartwatch that the person wears to bed. The app tracks the person's movement and heart rate, and can therefore sense when a night terror is about to begin. When that happens, it gently buzzes the smartwatch, taking the person out of a night terror WITHOUT waking them up.
The app is currently in a clinical trial with the North Carolina Department of Veterans Affairs.