Can You Stop Disease With Smart Devices?

Map data provided by Kinsa. Data represents approximately 3,000 temperature readings. Geographic coordinates are derived from anonymous readings and have been aggregated to be compliant with privacy regulations.Map by Nicolas Rapp

WHAT: Track the spread of disease using connected thermometers.

THE PROBLEM: For public health officials, tracking how a disease spreads is as important as understanding its symptoms. But today’s methods are unreliable or too slow.

THE PROPONENT: Kinsa CEO Inder Singh believes that giving away a low-cost, Internet-connected thermometer to the parents of schoolchildren will enable his company to reliably track the spread of illness—no pediatrician necessary.

THE PROCESS: The child’s temperature and symptoms are transmitted to the Kinsa cloud and aggregated.

THE ADDED PERK: Parents receive the aggregated information too, so they can learn if little Sophia’s fever is caused by a cold or if it’s something more serious.

For more on disease, watch this Fortune video:

A version of this article appears in the January 1, 2016 issue of Fortune with the headline “Contagion Curtailed.”