Tech Giants Help Lead Next Generation of Health Tech May 14, 2021 -- The pace of medicine and communications is advancing so fast that soon a daughter will receive an alert when her mother's behavior shows hints of future Alzheimer's disease. A smartphone will be able to anaylze a person's data on blood pressure, sleep patterns, and oxygen levels and send information to a designated doctor when a pattern of concern emerges. With emerging technology, patients will own that information, can choose who to share it with, and systems will be protected against interruptions, outside threats, and system failures. To get there, the U.S. National Science Foundation is partnering with two federal departments and nine private connectivity giants — including Apple, Google, IBM, and Microsoft — to award $40 million in grants to the researchers with the most promising ideas for transforming the way information is communicated.