We sometimes forget how miraculous it is that our technology talks to each other. The ability to hook a computer to a network, or Skype to a landline, is not preordained. It takes interested parties to sit together and set standards. The "Internet of Things" is a great idea, but suffers mostly from being an endless series of data islands. A dishwasher can talk to the … [Read more...]
Researchers Develop Stretchable Antenna to Work on Fabric
Frequent readers know that we're always on the lookout for technology that's compatible with fabrics and clothing. Researchers at North Carolina State University have produced an antenna that can be stretched or rolled, enabling wearable sensors to better communicate with remove devices. We heard a lot about printing silver nanowires onto fabric at the Flexible Electronics … [Read more...]
Credible Details Emerge on Healthbook, Apple’s Coming Fitness Tracking Software
We tend to be skeptics about pre-release speculation and leaks, but 9to5 Mac appears to have gotten the goods on Healthbook, Apple's entry into the fitness tracking (and, by extension, wearables) business. The article includes extensive clear screenshots which show the direction of the iOS software and, presumably, its companion hardware. Healthbook, which looks a great deal … [Read more...]
Healbe GoBe Claims to Read Glucose Levels Through Skin
Most fitness tracker wrist bands show a (bad) estimate of calories expended, based on how much you move. Healby's GoBe, an IndieGoGo project, does that, but also claims to track caloric intake and expenditure by monitoring your glucose levels through your skin. The GoBe's wristband is admittedly not svelte, but it does a lot: monitor movement, track blood pressure and heart … [Read more...]
Cefaly Migrane Headband Gets FDA Approval
The Cefaly headband, which sends small electrical currents through your head to help relieve and/or prevent migrane headaches, has won approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The device, which looks rather like a set of Oakley M-Frame eyewear without the lenses, is available by prescription for $295. [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Rh3btp7Rxw] … [Read more...]
Cutting Medical Errors with Wearables
Using wearable tech to monitor employees is kind of creepy, but what if that monitoring could save lives? InformationWeek carries an interesting perspective article that suggests hospital patient outcomes might be better if nurses were checked in real time for error-inducing fatigue. … [Read more...]
Antarctica as a Wearables Test Bed
If you want to stress-test technology and neither space nor underwater are available, Antarctica is a pretty good choice. That's what the Canadian Space Agency is doing with body monitors that they want to send into space. Astroskin is an autonomous medical monitoring system for astronauts, which consists of an intelligent garment for the upper body and a headband fitted with … [Read more...]
Indiana Cancer Docs Try Out Glass in Surgery
Does the FDA know about this? CrunchGear's got the story about a couple of surgeons at Indiana University using Google Glass during cancer surgery. While removing an abdominal tumor, they used Glass's voice commands to call up and view MRI and x-ray scans. This is the sort of thing that regulators and ethics committees get starchy about, but given the publicity that IU is … [Read more...]
Google Contact Lenses to Fight Diabetes
Contact lenses to help diagnose various medical conditions are uncommon but not unheard of. Google, though, is now talking about building contact lenses with wireless sensors that can track the chemical composition of tears. That's not some evil conspiracy to control all of the internet's endpoints. It turns out to be important in fighting diabetes. Sufferers need to track … [Read more...]
Netatmo’s June Tracks Sun Exposure
People who work around radiation have long worn exposure monitors. And more and more people are wearing movement trackers. So why not wristware that monitors excess exposure to the sun? Why not indeed? Neatmo (which heretofore has made connected weather stations and thermostats) has introduced June, a jewel-like bauble that hangs on a slender leather strap, and which tracks … [Read more...]