Macalaster College senior Tyler Skluzacek and his team have created an app called MyBivy, to help veterans suffering from PTSD, like his father, rest easier at night, according to USA Today.
"We won't sleep until Veterans can," said the 21-year-old
The app, which is used with a smartwatch or smartphone, tracks heart rate among other movements to predict when night terrors could possibly occur, according to NBC News. It vibrates or makes a sound, bringing the users out of deep sleep while simultaneously allowing them to remain asleep.
Skluzacek says that his dad, Patrick Skluzacek, was deployed to Iraq for a year while he was in the sixth grade, but his dad was a little different when he returned.
"Your dad just disappearing for a year and coming back a little bit different and seeing his Army buddies and them coming back a little bit different, too - I have a real personal connection to the PTSD problem," said Skluzacek.
Skluzacek and his team received an award for their invention after entering HackDC, a 36-hour coding contest, according to People.
This year the theme was helping veterans, and Skluzacek and his crew of fellow students took top prize for their invention.
