Digital Cyclone, a subsidiary of Global Positioning System product maker Garmin, and the Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research has developed a cell phone service that provides subscribers with several tools to help them in a medical emergency.

• Among its offerings, the new service provides
• first-aid tips,
• a symptom checker
• health-related video news alerts
• nearby emergency and urgent-care facilities.

The service called Mayo Clinic InTouch cost $2.99 a month on Alltel, Cingular Wireless, Sprint Nextel and Verizon Wireless networks and will starting this month.

Subscribers can enter either their city or ZIP code to search the list of more than 3,800 medical facilities. If they have a GPS-enabled phone, the device can automatically pinpoint the nearest facilities without users having to type in a location.