What can a doctor do with your fitness tracker’s data?

• Who is this post for? Anyone who has or is thinking of buying a fitness tracker
• What does it discuss? The growing notion that doctor’s can make a meaningful analysis of your data to diagnose your health
• How does it benefit you? Fresh perspective

I bought a fitness tracker earlier in the year. I have used it sporadically and find the data interesting to look at but to be completely truthful it’s affected neither my weight or my fitness levels.  I have however found it intriguing that devices like smart watches and wristbands can measure my heart rate, maybe helping me to avoid a heart attack and potentially sending data to my doctor.

I say I find it ‘intriguing’ because I always wonder what a doctor would actually do with this data. So I’m happy to point you in the direction of an article I read last week, asking doctors what they do when people show up with reams of personal fitness data. Clearly we have some way to go before our data is a) meaningful to any health experts (clearly there is a difference with fitness experts) and b) our data is connected to any centralised system that monitors the data itself.  We’ll get back to you on this one in 2020!

Read the piece from Forbes here

 

 

6 ways to improve life for those with dementia

• Who is this post for? Anyone who is responsible for caring for those suffering from symptoms of dementia
• What does it discuss? Gadgets and products that can help relieve burden, worry and stress
• How does it benefit you? Make life at least a little easier and less stressful

Suffering from dementia in old age runs in my family. I know that my parents and I are more likely to suffer from symptoms of dementia or Alzheimers than not. 1 in 3 seniors are likely to die with some symptoms of dementia and Alzheimers is the sixth-leading cause of death in the UK.

I’ve witnessed first hand through grandparents and their own relatives what this looks like and it can be incredibly stressful for those looking after their loved ones.

Thus I was delighted to come across an article on Mashable listing 6 ways (including some excellent, simple to use gadgets) to help improve life for those suffering. I won’t steal the article’s thunder, I simply hope it proves useful to many of you. Read it here

3 ways to help your kids manage their screen time

• Who is this post for? Parents
• What does it discuss? Helping children to be mindful of their screen time
• How does it benefit you? Focus and peace of mind

Last week we asked you whether you felt your children’s screen time should be limited. It’s a subject that raises passionate opinions on both sides of the fence.

This week we simply want to point you in the direction of a thoughtful piece about helping your kids to think about the amount of time they spend in front of screens and the purpose of doing so. Read the piece from Anna Almendrala Healthy Living Senior Editor, Huffington Post, here.

 

3D Audio Technology To Help Visually Impaired

• Who is this post for? People who are visually impaired
• What does it discuss? New technology to help independent movement
• How does it benefit you? Help others you know to cope more easily with visual impairment

A complicated project from Microsoft with a simple premise: “Could we enable a person with sight loss to get out and about in a way that would enable you to be more independent.” 

The Cities Unlocked project has been in development for two years, using advanced GPS and smartphone technology to help the visually impaired navigate cities on their own.

Using Bluetooth and Microsoft’s Soundscape app, the user can understand exactly where they are in relation to popular locations and landmarks. The project also uses over-ear headphones by hearing aid maker GN Store Nord that provides a 3D sound component – with a built-in pyrometer and compass that gives the impression of sound coming from different directions.

This is still in planning stages but has great potential to really impact the quality of life for many people.

If you know of any other technology projects that you find inspiring please let us know. 

 

Music as medicine

• Who is this post for? Everyone
• What does it discuss? A technology project for all that explores how music can benefit your mind and body
• How will you benefit? Better health, clearer focus, more thoughtful children…we could go on

The Sync Project is a initiative started and run by one of my old colleagues Marko Ahtisari.  Marko and his team believe that if music can reach us physically, then we can find a way of decoding what music does, and we could then use it to improve health.

The project itself centres around a platform that maps music characteristics to real-time biometrics gathered from an exploding variety of sensors. The team hope to understand and decode the personalized therapeutic effect of music.  Or in layman’s terms – they collect data from things like smartphones, wristbands and smartwatches to help us understand what happens to our brains and bodies when listening to music.

Read more about the purpose of the project here

Right now, I advise doing what I’ve done and simply sign up to see what happens. Up to this point I’ve been getting e-mail updates but I’ll certainly be a willing volunteer (as would my wife and daughter) when the project scales up and starts to have its desired positive impact on all our lives.