During Superstorm Sandy, one of New Jersey’s most significant healthcare challenges was powering the medical devices that many individuals rely on. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services yesterday announced a nationwide challenge that seeks ideas on a system that can determine the location and status of life-sustaining durable medical equipment such as oxygen concentrators and portable ventilators, and get help to users in an emergency.

“For most Americans, losing power during a storm is an inconvenience, but for some, electricity is a matter of life or death,” said Dr. Nicole Lurie, assistant secretary for preparedness and response and a rear admiral in the U.S. Public Health Service. “With access to real-time information about the locations and remaining battery life during emergencies, communities can meet the needs and possibly save lives of people who rely on durable medical equipment.”

HHS says thousands of people in the United States rely on electrically powered equipment to meet their medical needs at home. In prolonged power outages, they often must seek help in shelters or emergency rooms to power the equipment or recharge the battery – a situation that was all too common in New Jersey hospitals during the sustained power outages following last year’s superstorm.

HHS envisions a system that automatically monitors and electronically communicates the status and location of a device, which could assist individuals, caregivers and first responders in planning and responding, such as sending a charged replacement battery or prioritizing power restoration. The challenge seeks ideas for a system that can capture essential data from durable medical equipment, including loss of power, power level, GPS location, time and date, battery life and privacy-protected user identifying information. The system should be accessible to all patients who use medical equipment in their homes and must securely send data to other secure information systems.

Ideas will be evaluated by experts including leaders from the design, device, venture and government sectors. The person or team with the best idea could receive up to $5,000.