This man says jet engines will inspire future healthcare

How is the human body like a jet plane? This is not a riddle – watch our video to understand how the answer could save lives.

Jet engines are complicated technology. If anything goes wrong with the many moving parts involved, it can have serious consequences.

It’s not ideal to have to solve a problem after it begins to have serious implications. So jet engines have inbuilt sensors that constantly monitor their status, making sure that the first signs of an abnormal event are flagged long before they become critical.

As Lionel Tarassenko, Oxford University’s Chair of Electrical Engineering in the video above explains, these kinds of safeguards could revolutionise patient care in the years to come.

Rather than dealing with an extreme event like a heart attack, hospitals and doctors could monitor a patient’s breathing and pulse constantly – catching the first warning signs, which often show themselves hours ahead.

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Lionel Tarassenko spoke to BBC Future at the Astellas Innovation Debateat the Royal Institution in London.