Back in March 2009 at the iPhone OS 3.0 debut event, Apple’s Scott Forstall pointed out medical devices specifically as one of the more interesting class of peripherals that could leverage the new custom app interface capabilities. And while it’s certainly an interesting concept — keeping tabs on your general health from the comfort of your own home — we haven’t really seen it catch on (only a couple of products come to mind). That isn’t stopping iHealth; the company’s blood pressure dock, available today from its online store (we’re told it should be filtering through Apple’s own channels later this month) ties in with a specialized iPhone / iPod touch / iPad app to monitor and track blood pressure from the comfort of your home, where theoretically there shouldn’t be a stranger in a white coat making you extra nervous. In our brief time with the device, the interface seemed fairly intuitive and the whole process simple and not at all intimidating. The cost of entry is $99.95 for the hardware; the free app should be hitting iTunes today. Press release after the break.
Another new year is upon us, and now’s the time to strike when you’re gung-ho about tackling all those new year’s resolutions before they’re completely forgotten by Martin Luther King Day. Of course shedding those Christmas pounds is always at the top of most people’s lists, and Escali’s Track & Target scale is a nice option for keeping your eyes on the lean and trim prize.
For the most part it’s your standard, stylish glass panel bathroom scale, but it lets up to 4 users input a target weight, and it will keep track of their progress every time they step on it. The LCD display not only shows your current weight, but also reminds you of your target and tells you how much you’ve gained or lost since you last stepped on, and how far you’ve still got to go. It’s $64.95 which isn’t terribly expensive for a somewhat high-tech scale, and if the simple motivation it provides keeps you working towards your goal well into the new year, then it’s definitely worth it.
A new iPhone 4 accessory promises to turn the Apple smartphone into a clinic-quality ECG machine. The iPhonECG is a clip-on case for the handset with a pair of electrodes on the back; paired with the handset via Bluetooth, it sends ECG readings to the custom app. According to the developers, the case and app are expected to come in at under $100 when the iPhonECG reaches the market.
Video demo after the cut
It’ll also apparently work with other iOS devices, like the iPod touch and iPad, though obviously not work as a case. The reading isn’t as comprehensive as a full 12-lead electrocardiogram, but is enough to monitor for arrhythmias or other heart pattern issues.
The iPhonECG is expected to debut at CES 2011 next week; no word on when it will actually go on sale, however.
A month or so ago we brought you a clever app called Pulse Phone that uses the iPhone’s camera and flash to measure your heart rate via your index finger. We found it worked well most of the time, but we wouldn’t consider it anything more than a party trick. In other words, you probably won’t be seeing it used in hospitals across the country anytime soon.
The iPhonECG however is a different story. It uses a slim, low-power sleeve with a couple of electrodes on the back to provide clinical-quality cardiac event readings. You can either hold it in your hands to get a reading of your pulse, or place it on your chest which makes it useful when dealing with a patient who can’t hold it themselves. The sleeve also works wirelessly with the iPhone 4, most likely via Bluetooth, and since it looks like it doesn’t attach to the dock connector I suspect you could get a reading even if you weren’t using it as a sleeve. The iPhonECG will be officially shown at CES next week, and we’ll do our best to hunt it down and get a hands-on.
Whenever gaming comes into a discussion on health, it gets attacked. A large group of critics from all over the globe say that playing video games causes children to be violent, older players to withdraw from the world, and can cause physical health issues from the supposed sedentary lifestyle.
Whether or not gaming really does cause children to become violent, adults to withdraw from society, and gamers in general to lose sight of their physical needs is decidedly up for debate, and there are compelling arguments made on either side. The fight between the two parties has been going on for years, and I don’t plan to rehash them here.
But I do want to get into what gaming does for me.
In my daily life, I’ve found that finding time to play a video game for at least a half hour each night helps me keep some balance between work and life. It gives me some time to decompress after a long day. And it provides me with a level of entertainment that I don’t necessarily enjoy during other parts of the day.
And I suppose I should say, for the record, that gaming didn’t make me violent as a child, I haven’t withdrawn from society, and I think I’m in relatively good physical condition.
Gaming makes me feel like a more balanced person. It provides me with that time each day to just, well, relax. And as many of us know all too well, we need more of that in our lives.
Now, I realize that people find relaxation in other entertaining exploits, like reading a book, exercising, watching a movie, or having a hobby. And among gaming critics, those actions are considered more valuable.
But as much as those critics might disagree, I’m a firm believer that gaming really does provide some value in peoples’ lives. And to say that it doesn’t, or to denigrate the impact it can have on helping to build a more well-rounded life for people is, at least in my opinion, a great disservice.
As far as I’m concerned, there is simply no reason to believe that gaming isn’t as valid as other tools used to help keep people happy.
So, although everyone has their own way of achieving a comfortable level of work-life balance, I think I’ve found mine through video games. Say what you will about the industry, the stories, or the way in which people play video games, but when it’s all said and done, gaming serves an important purpose in my life. And like many others, I’m happy about that.
But that’s just me. Do you find time for gaming in your life? Let me know in the comments below.
Besides mentally breaking down even the strongest of people, Christmas shopping is no cakewalk on your body either. So next year consider having this electronic compress ready and waiting when you get home from a trip to the mall. It’s got an aluminum head that can be heated to 110ºF, or cooled to 40ºF, in just 45 seconds, providing almost instant relief. And it looks like it’s no where near as messy as creams or chemical-based solutions, and I’m almost certain there’s no fear of it melting like an ice pack. The catch? It’s powered by 4xAA batteries which I’m sure it gobbles up in no time flat, and it’s $130.
Door handles are dirty, dirty things. Especially ones that you find in public places, where hundreds, if not thousands of hands touch it on a daily basis. And while these door handles may get cleaned every night (hopefully), it’s just not enough to make sure that germs aren’t being spread about everywhere, getting people sick. That’s why we need a door handle that sterilizes itself. And why it’s not surprising that when someone designs a concept for one, they win a concept design award.
The self-sterilizing door handle was designed by Choi Bomi, and the design won a Red Dot Design Concept award. It’s a pretty simple, straight-forward idea. Door handles are dirty, so we need a way to make sure that they’re clean. Using UV lights, When the door handle is not being used, the UV lamps turn on, and start sterilizing the handle while it’s not being used. As soon as someone touches it, and turns it, then the UV lamps turn off. So, when the handle returns to its resting position, the lamps turn back on, and start killing bacteria and germs. A great idea, to say the least — so let’s hope it actually happens.
It’s not easy to write about a $50 device that can easily be replaced, and improved, by a $0.99 iPhone app, but I’ll try. The Onaroo is pegged as a PBA or ‘personal baby assistant’ and is essentially designed to serve as a data gathering PDA for households with a new arrival. It makes tracking info like nursing and sleep schedules, bottles, pumping, diapers, medicine, temperature, and growth slightly easier than with a coiled notebook and pen. But it’s clear advantage is its ability to display graphs of that data over time which is handy for doctor visits, or freaking out those overly paranoid parents.
The Onaroo syncs to your PC via a USB cable, and an included app will automatically upload the data to the PBA Online website (for free) which provides even more options for charting your child’s progress. The PBA itself also doubles as a reminder with timers and alarms that can be set to vibrate if you don’t want to interrupt a nap, and don’t mind going about your daily business with it clipped to your belt. But like I already said, even with the free online services it’s hard to justify the $49.95 for the Onaroo PBA. So here’s to hoping the company has a cheaper app alternative already in development.
Instead of using a long pointy needle to deliver medication, which can be quite painful at times, the PharmaJet uses a high-speed liquid jet that literally blasts the medicine through your skin in less than 1/3 of a second. While the technology isn’t necessarily new, the PharmaJet improves on older designs with a sterile, single-use syringe and a spring-powered mechanism that requires no external power source besides the muscle needed to re-load it.
And since pain is a subjective feeling, the PharmaJet isn’t billed as being completely ‘pain-free’, but according to the company’s founder it feels like the equivalent of a tiny rubber band snapping against your skin. The injector, which can be reused thousands of times, currently costs about $100 while the single-use syringes run somewhere in the neighborhood of 30 cents to $1, probably closer to the latter. So they’re more expensive than traditional needles at the moment, but as production and use increases it could end up being a viable and even more cost-effective alternative to being stabbed in the arm.
It’s an idea that’s been around the medical block a time or two already, but so far, no one has really stepped up to the plate in an effort to make at-home and on-the-go STD testing a mainstream reality. According to a new Guardian report, however, a grand total of seven entities (including the Medical Research Council) have moved to fund development in the space. The UK Clinical Research Collaboration is the end result, with £4 million at its disposal right from the get-go. The idea is to develop small chips that can accept urine samples, and then those chips would be plugged into PCs or mobile phones (likely via a USB adapter of some sort) in order to give individuals information on any sexually transmitted infection they may have. The goal is to provide that data in private and “within minutes,” and experts in the field are hopeful that this kind of innovation would help reduce the growing number of STIs across the UK. If all goes well, the “rapid testing devices” could be sold for £1 or less in “vending machines in nightclubs, pharmacies and in supermarkets,” but there’s still no clear indication of when it’ll happen.
