Skip to main content

Health 2.0: eHealth Needs Hardware, Too

 |  By gshaw@healthleadersmedia.com  
   October 03, 2011

You think eHealth is all about the apps and software? While it is true that the vast majority of eHealth tools featured at the Health 2.0 conference in San Francisco exist only online or in smartphones and devices, there were several devices folks can actually touch at the show.

Although most of the devices are aimed at consumer end-users, there are benefits to healthcare organizations. For example, devices that allow patients to share their data can help docs track patients after discharge, allowing them to intervene if a patient shows signs deterioration--possibly heading off a visit to the ER or a readmission.

Rehabilitate in a box

Vlad Shlosberg, Roderick Escobar and Sheetal Shah won the conference's code-a-thon contest with a device they call simply "The Box." A Microsoft Kinect gaming system, equipped with motion-sensor technology, tracks patients recovering from cardiac events as they perform rehabilitation exercises.

Doctors can check in on results through a tablet application that records the information and a video conferencing tool lets doctors and patients conduct remote visits. The portable device is encased in a hard-shell pelican case--a healthcare organization could rent or lend it to a patient until rehab is complete.

The box is also budget-friendly. Over the two-day code-a-thon, team members, all employees of tech firm Avanade, dashed through the city to buy about $470 worth of parts and supplies, passing through the notoriously free-spirited Folsum Street Fair on the way.

The price point impressed the judges.

The team used inexpensive and commercially available materials to do something that would have cost $5,000 to deliver two or three years ago, code-a-thon judge Jan Gurley, MD, a San Francisco public health physician and administrator, told Health 2.0 News. "The notion that you could put together a box whose ultimate cost was under $500 and could do all the things that it’s advertising it can do means that you could have a huge splash and that commercialization might actually work." she said.

Wear your heart on your wrist (or your arm)

Basis Science launched a heart and health monitor wrist strap that was voted an audience favorite.

The $199 tracker has multiple sensors, including an optical blood flow sensor that measures heart rate and a 3D accelerometer that records movement, including while the wearer is asleep. It also tracks body heat levels to measure calorie burn rate and sweat levels to track the intensity of a workout from warm-up to recovery, according to the maker, which is based in Vancouver but has an office in San Francisco.

Connect the device to the computer and a Web-based dashboard show the stats in graphic format and makes personalized wellness recommendations. Users can share their stats on social network sites and share results with their doctors.

Another health tracker device featured at the show: an armband that automatically captures more than 5,000 data points per minute on sweat, body temperature, heat flux, motion and steps, and sleep activity. The BodyMedia Fit Core armband includes an optional display device that can be worn as a wristband or clipped on clothing and provides updates throughout the day.

An online component has a food journal and analyzes the raw data on calories, sleep and patterns, and offers personalized recommendations. There's a mobile phone app, too.

Wear your heart on your ear

A personal hart rate monitor, which also made its debut at the show, is touted as a stress-management tool. Using a small ear clip, the monitor tracks an individual’s heart rate variability and provides feedback via its mobile and web applications on how to reduce variability through slow breathing exercise. MyCalmBeat was created by Brain Resource, Ltd.

Track your health on the cuff

A blood pressure cuff that connects to an iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch and allows users to measure systolic and diastolic pressures as well as their heart rate. Results are displayed in real time and stored so users can track their progress over time. The Withings device also allows users to send results to their physician via email.

Weigh in on smartscales

Another Withings device, a Wi-Fi smartscale tracks weight, fat mass, muscle mass, and BMI. Users can track results over time for multiple users online or with an Android device, iPhone, or iPad. Users can send results to their care team, as well. 

 
See Also:

Do eHealth Tools Need Peer Review?

Breaking Down Barriers to Healthcare Innovation

ONC Pledges to Make Patients Meaningful Users, Too

 

 

Pages

Tagged Under:


Get the latest on healthcare leadership in your inbox.