{"id":24944,"date":"2016-11-18T17:07:29","date_gmt":"2016-11-18T21:07:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.andysowards.com\/blog\/?p=24944"},"modified":"2023-03-18T22:34:01","modified_gmt":"2023-03-19T02:34:01","slug":"medical-devices-fit-in-your-pocket","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.andysowards.com\/blog\/2016\/medical-devices-fit-in-your-pocket\/","title":{"rendered":"Medical Devices That Fit In Your Pocket? You’d Better Believe It"},"content":{"rendered":"

Those of you who watch Star Trek will be waiting with baited breath for the next installment in the Tricorder X Prize. Here, dozens of research groups are all vying to be the first to build a genuine medical device that can diagnose any condition. Sound futuristic?<\/p>\n

The prize was set up by Qualcomm, the mobile chip giant. It\u2019s currently offering more than $10 million to the first team to produce a device that can diagnose patients noninvasively. The device must weigh no more than five pounds and must be able to diagnose more than a dozen conditions.<\/p>\n

\"xprize-qualcomm-tricorder-xprize\"<\/a>
\nA real-life medical tricorder: XPrize wants to make it so<\/em><\/p>\n

The X Prize was first organized back at the Consumer Electronics Show in 2012. When it was launched, nobody expected it to bear fruit – at least not for a long time. But as so often happens with technology, people underestimate what can be achieved. Now according to the official website, Qualcomm expects to start giving out prizes as early as next year.<\/p>\n

This, of course, isn\u2019t just down to the research efforts of one particular research group. The whole economic system is now hell bent on producing ever smaller and more capable devices. Laser lighting is improving all the time, sensors are getting smaller, and new materials are being made. It\u2019s all leading inexorably to a world in which medical devices fit in our pocket. In fact, there\u2019s a case to be made that we\u2019re already here.<\/p>\n

Digital technology, as well as the internet of things, means that medical devices are now a true possibility. Let\u2019s take a look at some of the stuff that\u2019s been going on in the sector.<\/p>\n

A Pain Relief Wearable That Wraps Around Your Leg<\/h3>\n

We\u2019ve all either seen or used those knee supports you can get from the drug store. They provide some extra strength and rigidity to weak joints.<\/p>\n

\"tech-medical-quell-wearable-pain-relief-starter-kit\"<\/a>
\nQuell – Wearable Pain Relief – Starter Kit Available Now on Amazon<\/em><\/p>\n

Now a company called Quell has come up with an Internet-connected version of the humble knee support. It\u2019s called Quell Relief, and it\u2019s designed for people with knee problems and defects. It\u2019s not exactly like a run-of-the-mill knee brace, however. Inside it has dozens of sensors. These sensors provide data to a companion app. These data can then be used to modify the function of the brace and track the healing process. The brace also has a button on the side that users can press for pain relief. The switch is designed to inhibit painful muscle spasms that often accompany knee problems.<\/p>\n

A Device That Monitors Your Heart<\/h3>\n

Just ten years ago, if you wanted to monitor your heart, you had to go to hospital. But today, you can get an ECG right in your living room. How? Well, it\u2019s all thanks to Qardiocore, something the makers call the \u201cconnected ECG monitor.\u201d The idea is something like this. Users strap the wearable sensor onto their chests. The sensor then connects, via Bluetooth to their tablet or mobile. They can then use the companion software to interpret the read outs. Any problems with their heart and the software will alert them immediately.<\/p>\n

The company behind the sensor claims that it has some advantages over regular ECG monitors. The first advantage is that there\u2019s no need for gel or sticky patches to get a good reading. The sensors work just fine by themselves. The other advantage they say is that it is only a fraction of the weight of hospital ECG systems.<\/p>\n

\"qardiocore-a-wearable-ecgekg-monitor\"
\nQardioCore \u2013 a wearable ECG\/EKG monitor<\/em><\/p>\n

The company\u2019s vision for the device is to connect patients to doctors over the cloud. As soon as the device detects any irregularities, doctors will be informed. It is hoped that this will reduce the number of deaths from heart attacks in the future.<\/p>\n

A Device That Automatically Collects Vital Information When Exercising<\/h3>\n

Over the last few years, we\u2019ve become accustomed to wearables that monitor our exercise. But now a company called Cloud DX wants to take that paradigm a stage further. One of the annoying things about a lot of these fitness apps is the amount of fuss they require before you set off.<\/p>\n

Cloud DX wants to get rid of all that. They\u2019ve created a device in the shape of a necklace that automatically records all of your vitals. On the surface, the necklace looks rather unremarkable. But underneath the plastic, there are all manners of sensors. The company behind it claims that it can track things like your movement, body temperature, oxygen levels and so on. The device then connects to the internet and transmits all that data to the cloud. Once the data are stored, the user can then go to them, as and when they please. The data tell users about their fitness, diet, and progress.<\/p>\n

\"sxsw-2015-star-trek-tricorder-real-and-will-diagnose-you-soon-tricoder-xprize-winner-vitali-cloud-dx\"<\/a>
\nSXSW 2015: THE STAR TREK TRICORDER IS REAL AND WILL DIAGNOSE YOU SOON<\/em><\/p>\n

Cloud DX hopes that the device will be a popular replacement for other systems. The Vitali, as it is called, is compatible with iOS and Android.<\/p>\n

Contact Lenses That Monitor Diabetics<\/h3>\n

Google is a company that has its fingers in a lot of pies. Until recently, it had a massive life sciences division, tasked with solving the world\u2019s diseases. As you might expect from the company, the solutions on offer were highly technological. One of the most celebrated are contact lenses, designed to detect high blood sugar levels.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been known for a while that myopia and diabetes are linked. They\u2019re two diseases often bundled together into what people in the medical field call Western diseases. Western diseases also include things like heart disease, bowel cancer, constipation, and hemorrhoids. The idea behind Google\u2019s contact lenses is to monitor blood glucose through a patient\u2019s tears. These data will then relayed to their mobile device, either iPhone<\/a> or Android. The patient can these show these data to their healthcare professional or use them themselves.<\/p>\n