Glooko
In March 2009, Apple hosted an event to introduce the iPhone OS 3.0 software. What I really found interesting back then was a prototype showcased with Lifescan (a J&J company), where they demonstrated how a user could manage her diabetes using an iPhone-accessory glucometer. It was a much needed evolutionary conceptual leap for a widely-used consumer medical device category. Turns out that...
Read MoreEASYWAKEme
Sleep monitoring related offerings started surfacing in the consumer market couple of years ago. More recently EASYWAKEme, another European startup, has thrown it’s hat in the ring. While reviewing Zeo and aXbo last year, I found myself wondering what was the need for having a bedside clock hardware, since most of that computing could be done in a smartphone. Seems like the crop of...
Read MoreComfort Zone
It’s fantastic when a popular technology from another industry is leveraged to solve a lingering problem in healthcare. Location-based Services (LBS) have been around in the telecom industry for a while now. These services use information about the location from cellular networks to enable enhanced experiences in navigation, shopping, or social gathering etc. Now consider the fact that 1...
Read MoreBasis
The concept of sensor-based connected devices that help consumers manage a healthy lifestyle is certainly gaining traction. Consider FitBit, Zeo, DirectLife, miCoach, BodyMedia, GreenGoose as examples. It was only a matter of time before a startup in this space decided to go with a watch-like form factor. I first heard about MyBasis during a talk given by Bharat Vasan (founder?) at Bay Area...
Read MoreHealthrageous
The wireless remote health monitoring market is white hot these days. Seems like a lot of creative folks are looking at the increasing ability of connected devices, sensors and wondering why aren’t these disrupting healthcare. Some luminary research centers rooted in academic institutions have found enough financial support to establish formal presence specifically in this space. West...
Read MoreCellnovo
People with type 1 diabetes need to take insulin in a similar way their pancreas would produce if it were normal. Older therapy used to be multiple daily injections, which were poor approximation of the insulin need. In Continuous Subcutaneous Insulin Infusion (CSII) or Insulin Pump therapy, a small device delivers a constant stream of rapid-acting insulin through a tiny tube; according to a...
Read MoreAsthmapolis
Asthmapolis is brainchild of David Van Sickle a researcher at University of Wisconsin-Madison. The basic idea is to equip inhalers with a GPS tag to determine when and where was it used by the patient. When such individual (de-identified, of course) medication data is aggregated, it can provide population care insight like environmental triggers and disease impact. Seems like there are three...
Read MoreLife Pebble
Toumaz technology is a spin-off from Imperial College of London , and they make what is probably the only ultra low-power silicon chip targeted for healthcare applications. In October 2009, they launched the Sensium Life Pebble wireless monitoring device in EU. The Life Pebble hardware includes a single lead ECG, skin thermometer, and an accelerometer. The data collected by the system is...
Read MoreCorventis
Palpitations, dizziness, and fainting can often be symptoms of underlying heart disease. The key to the correctly diagnosing them is reliable documentation of the underlying cardiac rhythm when symptoms occur. Holter and Event recorders are the two noninvasive methods have been usually used to do such long-term ambulatory monitoring, but they often end up being insufficient or ineffective for...
Read MoreaXbo
More products designed around actigraphy keep surfacing. aXbo is a ‘Sleep Phase Alarm Clock’ by an Austrian company. The basic idea is to differentiate sleep phases (light, deep, REM) using body movements that are detected via a motion-sensor worn on the wrist. The bedside clock unit has other features like power naps, auto sleep melody fade, use for two people, smart alarm etc. A...
Read MoreGlowCaps
Of all the consumer healthcare device ideas, this may be the most ingenious one. In August 2009, Massachusetts-based Vitality announced availability of GlowCaps- a web-enabled $99 cap for prescription bottles that helps remind patients to take their medications on time. GlowCaps fits the standard pill container, and uses short-range wireless communication to talk to a gateway hub at home that is...
Read MoregDitty (Zamzee)
Now I’m finding so many ideas being tested or marketed in the actigraphy space, that I’m inclined to make a tag for related posts (did). gDitty comes out of HopeLab, a Redwood City based non-profit organization. gDitty is targeted towards promoting physical activity in kids. The product combines an activity meter device (on belt or in pocket) with an online rewards program that...
Read MoreWithings
I’ll admit right away that this post is more about the trend, and not the product itself. Withings is a french start-up that introduced a wi-fi enabled weight scale in late 2009. The device can send your data (weight, BMI, body fat, lean mass etc) wirelessly over the internet. So you can track it for free either online on Withings.com website or through an iPhone app. It made some waves...
Read MoreZumeLife
Zume Life is a San Jose start-up that is planning to develop its own dedicated device to allow individuals to keep track of and manage their own care regimen. It’s target users are individuals with complex care requirements- taking a multiple medications, specific diets, frequent measurements, daily exercise etc. What they offer is a ‘Zumi Life Service’ that helps coordinate...
Read MoreZeo
I wrote about Proactive Sleep a while back and wondered how it would be to combine a sensor to automatically record sleep pattern. Well, Zeo gets one step closer to that. Zeo system consists of a wearable headband that measure brain’s natural electrical activity. Although their blog has a high-level explanation of how it works, my understanding is that its a single-channel EEG, which seems...
Read MoremiCoach
Another vital-sensing hardware with integrated service to keep you healthy. miCoach from Addias helps users create a custom workout plan and track progress with real-time feedback and audio coaching. I was fortunate to see a demo last month. At the core of the offering is a set of remote sensors- a heart rate monitor (worn as a strap around torso) and a stride sensor (clips on to shoes, and...
Read MoreDirectLife
Royal Philips International seems to be placing its bets on some innovative healthcare IT markets. Here are some that I’ve noticed in the past couple of years: VISICU (a remote ICU monitoring technology company acquired in 2007) Digital Pathology (commercial offering in 2009) Motiva (Remote patient management and education delivered through television) TeleStation (In-home hub for two-way...
Read MoreProactive Sleep
In general, I really like the idea of using personal mobile computing devices in treating/preventing chronic conditions. As devices and sensors get smarter and cheaper, it’s logical that they start playing role in helping individuals deal with chronic, lifestyle affecting conditions like migraines, sleep disorders, allergies, dysmenorrhea, depression etc. Proactive Sleep provides a...
Read MoreBodyMedia
Pittsburgh-based BodyMedia makes personal monitoring devices that can help consumers keep track of their physical activity and nutrition. Their products and accessories contain innovative sensors that measure physiological data like heart rate, body temperature, calories burnt, sleep duration, etc . The collected data is then interpreted online to help wearers aim for and monitor a balanced,...
Read MoreLifeShirt
LifeShirt is a wearable ‘smart fabric‘ that can be used to remotely monitor multiple vital signs. It is made by VivoMetrics, a Ventura, CA based startup founded in 1999. From what I can gather, LifeShirt captures data around heart rate, respiration, posture, activity level, temperature, limb II ECG and can connect to optional peripheral devices for EEG, skin temperature, blood oxygen...
Read MorePhreesia
Your doctor may not think of it that way, but some advertisers feel that the time you spend in the waiting room is important. Phreesia offers ‘PhreesiaPad’: a wireless-enabled touch screen device that replaces the traditional forms-on-a-clipboard you get handed when visiting your doctor. The idea is that patients enter their information (age, insurance, complaint, history etc.) via...
Read MoreFitBit
Fitbit is a startup trying to leverage the rising wellness trend- they manufacture a small device that you can wear throughout the day to find out how much physical activity you did, how well you slept etc. The tiny device sells for $99 and contains a motion sensor (like the Nintendo Wii) that converts 3D motion data into useful interpretations about your lifestyle. In a 7-day period, whenever...
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