The National Science Foundation-funded Trustworthy Health and Wellness, or THaW, project, which aims to protect patient confidentiality as medical records become increasingly accessible from remote locations, has produced "Wanda."
Hanover, N.H.-based DartmouthCollege researchers developed "Wanda," a device that uses two antennas separated by half a wavelength to securely beam secure data between devices, giving patients who want to access medical information from home a simple way to do so safely. Most patients don't know how to securely access private data they are sharing on home networks, and partnering devices and joining wireless networks creates vulnerabilities, according to the researchers.
By connecting the "Wanda" device to a USB port on the Wi-Fi access point and pointing the antennas at the device they wish to share information with, data is securely exchanged in seconds.
"People love this new approach to connecting devices to Wi-Fi," Tim Pierson, a Dartmouth PhD student who developed the device, said in a statement. "Many of our volunteer testers remarked on the frustration they've encountered when configuring wireless devices at home…We anticipate our 'Wanda' technology being useful in a wide variety of applications, not just healthcare, and for a wide range of device management tasks, not just Wi-Fi network configuration."