Ideas worth spreading

The big idea my brother inspired

615,633 views | Jamie Heywood • TEDMED 2009

When Jamie Heywood's brother was diagnosed with ALS, he devoted his life to fighting the disease as well. The Heywood brothers built an ingenious website where people share and track data on their illnesses -- and they discovered that the collective data had enormous power to comfort, explain and predict.

When Jamie Heywood's brother was diagnosed with ALS, he devoted his life to fighting the disease as well. The Heywood brothers built an ingenious website where people share and track data on their illnesses -- and they discovered that the collective data had enormous power to comfort, explain and predict.

This talk was presented at an official TED conference. TED's editors chose to feature it for you.

About the speaker

Jamie Heywood

Healthcare revolutionary

See speaker profile

When MIT-trained mechanical engineer Jamie Heywood discovered that his younger brother was diagnosed with the terminal illness ALS, he focused all his energy on founding revolutionary healthcare initiatives to help his brother and others like him.

This talk was presented at an official TED conference. TED's editors chose to feature it for you.