Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. 24/7 Space News .




SPACE TRAVEL
Consumer tech show spotlights gadgets for healthy living
by Staff Writers
Las Vegas (AFP) Jan 8, 2015


From bracelets that measure body fat to robots that coach children through chemotherapy, the Consumer Electronics Show brimmed with gadgets promising prescriptions for healthier lives.

Innovations on display by companies such as California-based Neurosky and Melomind of Paris involved measuring brain activity for reducing stress.

"There are more wearable health gadgets here than ever before," NPD analyst Stephen Baker told AFP.

"That is one of the top two or three categories that people are interested in; there are lots of small companies trying to find their way into an exploding market."

While the show floor was awash in stylish wrist wear for measuring activity, sleep, and even mood, an InBody band went so far as to measure how much of a wearer's body is made up of fat.

"We have tons of interest," Brian Galman of InBody said of the bands, which will be priced at $180 when they hit the market in March.

InBody is building on success it has had with scales that give detailed analysis of body composition by sending mild electric charges through people from the bottoms of their feet to their thumbs pressed against contact points on handles.

Galman said the scales are used by professional sports teams, medical facilities; the US military; high-end fitness centers, and even the gym at the main Google campus.

- Brains and backs -

A headset shown off by California-based Neurosky captured signals emitted by firing neurons and then equated various frequencies to states of mind such as how hard one is thinking or how much they appreciate something.

Neurosky technology has been built into wearable devices to measure conditions such as fatigue or stress, according to products on display.

Valedo Therapy was at CES with what it billed as the first digital back coach. Sensors on the chest and back feed signals to newer model iPhones or iPads, and are synched to video games designed to make exercise therapy fun.

"There is a medical layer and a gaming layer," Robert MacKenzie of Valedo told AFP.

"This is actually a medical product for exercise therapy."

The Switzerland-based company sells the recently-launched back health kit for $359 online at valedotherapy.com.

RxRobots of Canada was at CES with small, humanoid MEDi robots designed to befriend children in medical settings and reduce pain or fear associated with treatments ranging from vaccinations to chemo-therapy.

Software brains in MEDi robots were crafted with the help of a child psychologist and include voice and face recognition features so the friendly robots can recognize children, according to RxRobots medical advisor Gerald Bushman, an anesthesiologist at Children's Hospital in Los Angeles.

"MEDi is meant not only to distract a child, but to teach him or her coping mechanisms that give them some mastery of their environment," Bushman told AFP

MEDi has had success in medical facilities in Canada, where the company is based, and is out to debut in US hospitals this year.

An array of smart health gadgets that France-based Visiomed showed off included ThermoFlash contact-free thermometer being used by the World Health Organization, NATO and others in the battle against Ebola.

Visiomed marked the start of CES this week by making a home version of ThermoFlash available in the US at a price of $60. The thermometer, which measures body temperature by being pointed at a person's temple, synchs to smartphone applications that coach users in what steps to take and what to tell health care providers in emergencies.

Elsewhere on the show floor were a baby pacifier that doubled as thermometer, and TempTraq patches that stick to sick babies like adhesive bandages to monitor body temperature. Both devices sent updates to parents' smartphones or tablets.

- Novelty into need -

"What's really exciting is what connected health brings to people in terms of prevention and diminishing their risks," Visiomed medical director Francois Teboul told AFP

Wristbands or other devices that measure sleep,steps, laps swum, miles run or other activities tend to be abandoned after the novelty wears off, according to market trackers.

To endure, gadgets need to provide health care providers and perhaps even medical insurance companies with personalized information that can lead to faster, smarter treatments and perhaps even discounts on policies, analysts maintained.

"Knowing temperature, steps, or how well you slept is the easy part," said Forrester analyst Frank Gillett.

"How do you inject all that technology into a health care system that is reactive instead of proactive to predict problems and treat them early?"

Neurosky's Vecchi gazed across an health gadget section of the CES show floor and agreed that the trend was heading straight for the medical and pharmaceutical industries.

"The wearable has a much greater value in the hands of those people than in the hands of consumers who are just measuring their steps," Vecchi said.

"In the hands of a doctor or a medical institution that kind of data has tremendous value; they can monitor trends and put it in the context of your medical records."

The bottom line is that people are thinking about tracking health and fitness and that is a good thing, NPD analyst Baker concluded.


Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only


.


Related Links
Space Tourism, Space Transport and Space Exploration News






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle








SPACE TRAVEL
Sporty tech gadgets put data in users' hands
Las Vegas (AFP) Jan 8, 2015
Olympic cycling medalist Dotsie Bausch is hooked on data, and she wants everyone to know it. Showing up at this week's Consumer Electronics Show as a spokeswoman for the medical technology group Masimo, Bausch offered a demonstration of her cycling skills and the data she uses to train. Getting good physiological data for training is important in a sport marred by numerous doping scandal ... read more


SPACE TRAVEL
Chinese spacecraft to return to moon's orbit

Russian Company Proposes to Build Lunar Base

'Shooting the Moon' with Satellite Laser Ranging

Moon Express testing compact lunar lander at Kennedy

SPACE TRAVEL
Potential Signs of Ancient Life in Mars Rover Photos

Inflatable 'Donut' to Bring Astronauts to Mars

New Project Scientist for Mars Rover

New analyses suggests water binds to sulfates in Martian soil

SPACE TRAVEL
Consumer tech show spotlights gadgets for healthy living

Electronics show a window into the 'Internet of Me'

Sporty tech gadgets put data in users' hands

GAO denies Sierra Nevada protest, OKs NASA crew contracts

SPACE TRAVEL
China launches the FY-2 08 meteorological satellite successfully

China's Long March puts satellite in orbit on 200th launch

Countdown to China's new space programs begins

China develops new rocket for manned moon mission: media

SPACE TRAVEL
SpaceX sets new launch date

Astronaut feels the force

Student Scientists Persevere, Ready to Launch Experiments to Space Station

ISS Crew to Raise Toasts for New Year's Eve 16 Times

SPACE TRAVEL
SpaceX to attempt rocket, cargo launch Saturday

Arianespace confident current and future launcher family will meet needs

Rocket glitch forces SpaceX to abort landmark launch

Summary of 2014 Civil and Commercial Launches

SPACE TRAVEL
Eight new planets found in 'Goldilocks' zone

Gemini Planet Imager produces stunning observations in its first year

CfA: Eight New Planets Found in "Goldilocks" Zone

Volunteer 'Disk Detectives' Classify Possible Planetary Habitats

SPACE TRAVEL
Electromagnetic waves linked to particle fallout in Earth's atmosphere

Uruguay receives mobile border surveillance system

3D printing could revolutionise war and foreign policy

Why some geckos lose their ability to stick to surfaces




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement All images and articles appearing on Space Media Network have been edited or digitally altered in some way. Any requests to remove copyright material will be acted upon in a timely and appropriate manner. Any attempt to extort money from Space Media Network will be ignored and reported to Australian Law Enforcement Agencies as a potential case of financial fraud involving the use of a telephonic carriage device or postal service.