Category: Health and Wellness

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Health and Wellness

iseewhatyousay seeks to ease communication with deaf and hearing-impaired

The Premise. Hearing loss is an issue that affects 10% of the world population, and it remains a significant barrier for human communication. Often times, hearing loss comes later in life, and it can thus be a difficult obstacle to overcome having not learned sign language.

The Product. The iseewhatyousay is a small and simple device that makes it easier for people with hearing loss to communicate in a one on one conversation. Currently available only for Android users, the iseewhatyousay is a speech-to-text reader that displays the text of a conversation to person with hearing loss. The person speaking holds down a button within the iseewhatyousay app on their phone, and it shows up on the screen of the device almost immediately. The goal is to make conversation smooth and effortless.

The Pitch. On the Kickstarter page, little is mentioned about what the device actually does or how it works. There’s a video that shows the creator and his father having a conversation with a prototype of the iseewhatyousay, but that conversation seems slow and labored.

The Perks. The iseewhatyousay is relatively cheap at only $50, with an expected delivery of July 2014. There are options for those who want to help produce these devices with contributions in the thousands.

The Potential. The iseewhatyousay has the best intentions in mind and the product’s eventual small form factor could be an advantage, but this product faces significant hurdles. The creators have not yet created a refined product ready for mass production and the product’s featured could be handled and far surpassed by the cheapest of used smartphones, There are countless of other speech-to-text devices available, and there are certainly alternative and more effective solutions for people with hearing loss.

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Health and Wellness

iHear brings down the cost of hearing help

The Premise. The acoustics of life shouldn’t require a lofty price. Yet, what most of us take for granted as just another sense is a commodity that others don’t have access to due to a hearing disability. A high quality hearing aid is very expensive, and it’s a barrier that keeps one in five Americans from buying hearing aids that dig deep into their wallets.

The Product. Regardless of whether you use an iPhone or iPad, the iHear is a comfortable hearing aid that delivers crisp and clear sound. It’s waterproof, completely invisible to outside viewers, and can be adjusted to have a perfect fit within your ear in less than a minute. It offers everything that a person with a hearing disability needs, but can do so at the fraction of the cost. The low price/high quality combination makes this hearing aid much more accessible to the average consumer, and thus it gives access to sound to a much larger percentage of the population with a hearing disability.

The Pitch. Both the Indiegogo campaign and the video show that iHear is truly passionate about making hearing aids more affordable. The creators go into depth about what is included, and how customers know that they’re getting reliable hearing aids. Supporting the mission of iHear are the stories of testers who have already changed to the hearing aid. They echo the sentiment of supplying a cheaper competitor for high quality sound delivery.

The Perks. iHear gives plenty of opportunity for anyone to support their campaign and the effort to give access to hearing to more people. The iHear HD can still be claimed at its early bird price of just $149, but the hearing aid will then be priced at a reasonable $200. For those who don’t have a hearing disability, there are plenty of ways to get involved. iHear also has a philanthropic campaign of trying to deliver 1000 hearing devices for free. Pledgers can donate $10 to that cause or pay $379 to get two hearing aids for you and two hearing aids for a person in need.

iHear has also developed a PC-based hearing test that can be administered that is available at $49. Lastly, for those looking to support iHear, you can pick up earphones designed for your smartphone and MP3 player for just $39. It’s currently anticipated that the iHear devices will start being available in August 2014.

The Potential. iHear Medical has a product on its hands that means all the best for improving the lives of people with a hearing disability, but the question is whether or not people without a hearing disability are willing to pledge. iHear still needs to get FDA approval for its products, and then the task will be to challenge the six companies that control the market for these medical devices with higher-priced product.

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Fitness Health and Wellness Lifestyle Relaxation Sports

The Navigator points your putter to the precious precise path

GolfNavigatorA bunch of golf lovers led by “Dirty Larry” Feiistel (who seems like quite the clean-cut fellow) got together to develop a product to help other people learn how to golf. This training aid helps new golfers improve their putting game. It involves an attachment to a putter that helps the golfer realize the alignment of the base of the putter, which in turn, determines the direction that the ball will go. They say that it improves the swing after just 15 minutes of use; that might be a tall order, but it’s not impossible.  The developers are asking for $60 to get the first run of the Navigator, which seems to be a big step up for an idea that was borne out of pipe cleaners. It is due to navigate its way to backers in April 2014.

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Health and Wellness

AlumaDeck puts some grating in your skating

alumadeckEver wondered what it would be like to ride an aluminum skateboard? Well, these guys did, so they developed one. The AlumaDeck is much more durable than your average skateboard, so serious skaters can get some really good use out of it. It’s also lighter than an average board and won’t warp if you ride through water. The video features skaters that wax poetic about the board’s handling and durability. However, you’ve got to be willing to drop $150 just to get a short board, so only serious skaters need to kickflip over to this deal.

 

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Health and Wellness

Yoga by Numbers helps new yogis, seeks stretch goal

YogaByNumbersYoga has numerous health benefits, but many new practitioners  find themselves with injuries because they don’t perform the positions correctly. Yoga by Numbers is speciality yoga mat comes with gridlines and numbered targets to help yogis practice safely. The company has filmed DVDs to help aspirants learn the mechanics of poses with their mat, making yoga more accessible to everyone. The dog-loving team that developed the mat, which seeks to raise $17,000, is producing in the U.S. using natural rubbers; these are good for the environment and sticky enough for new yogis to get a good grip. The best reward deal seems to be the $120 starter package, which includes the mat, two DVDs, and a mat-carrying strap. It’s due in April 2014.

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Food and Beverage Health and Wellness

Drink E-Z helps patients, sucks lazy into sedentary Wall-E future

The Premise. Whether it’s as a result of oral surgery, injury or old age, many people have trouble making use of the common straw as a beverage delivery system. Also, some people are thirsty and want to exert as little effort as possible to fix that problem.

The Product. Drink E-Z reinvents something as simple as the drinking straw in a way to make the process easier for those who need help drinking or need to avoid creating suction in the mouth. Made up of four interlocking parts and operated by three AA batteries, the Drink E-Z looks like your standard to-go cup aside from the tantalizing red button at the cup’s base. This button activates a food-grade micro pump that propels your drink up through the straw and brings it right to your lips. The whole thing tears down just as easily for cleaning and works with all but the thickest of drinks. (We’re looking at you, Shamrock Shake.)

The Pitch. Inventor Damjan Madjar introduces the Drink E-Z and its uses, how it improves the lives of the infirm, and explains the simple but effective design. A second video, featuring a dentist, gives an endorsement for the Drink E-Z and how it can help reduce infections in post-operative patients. The campaign is looking for $65,000 to finalize the design and make the injection molds. Looking past the campaign, the team already has a placeholder domain registered and a Facebook group for fans to get updates.

The Perks. $35 will get you your very own Drink E-Z (batteries included) when it launches in June 2014. Higher-tier perks increase the quantity of cups for each order. By simple multiplication, the $350 tier is worth 10 Drink E-Z cups. However, this tier also gives backers the chance to brand the cups with a company logo. La-Z-Boy might be a good one. The highest $850 tier gives retailers a pack of 50 to sell on their store shelves.

The Potential. The market for a self-sucking straw seems fairly specialized among those who truly need it and the inspiringly lazy. It’s not outside the realm of possibility to expect dentists and oral surgeons to recommend these to patients and they could very well be found in your local pharmacy after launch. This does appear to be a truly unique idea, but despite what the campaign and its videos suggest, it seems a little far-fetched to expect to see someone lounging on the beach enjoying a drink at the press of a button when the straw is already in their mouth.

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Connected Objects Health and Wellness

QardioArm puts blood pressure readings on your handset

The Premise. Many people have to monitor their own blood pressures multiple times daily due to various medical conditions. The means having a bulky blood pressure cuff with them, which can be unsightly and to some, embarrassing.

The Product. QardioArm revolutionizes not only the look of a blood pressure cuff, but also the usability and feasibility. The company has created a product that is sleek and doesn’t look out of place in a work bag or purse, while simultaneously creating a product that brings blood pressure monitoring into the digital age. The QardioArm can connect via Bluetooth to your iPhone, where it syncs the data with its secure cloud storage system. You can then share the information with your family or doctor, if you choose.

The Pitch. The video for the $100,000 campaign is professionally shot and features not only the developers but a physician who speaks to the merit of the product. After a brief personal story of how the item came to be, the video shows various stages of product, usage, and puts the QardioArm in a series of shots that are the contents of peoples’ bags, to show it doesn’t look out of place.  The text gives more information and details, as well as a brief few sentences about an upcoming product that is a wearable EKG monitor that will work through the same system.

The Perks. For $85, a backer gets an early bird special price on a QardioArm, and for $160, a backer receives two. However, the company is also marketing to physicians and hospitals, and offers five QardioArms for $400 and 100 for $7500. That shows forward thinking and a great way to reach out to the medical community. The product offers perks for those who have to track their health, but one drawback may be the security these devices provide. By linking to a cloud and to doctor’s offices, there is a chance of hacking and so forth.

The Potential QardioArm follows earlier connected blood pressure monitors such as those from Withings and iHealth that attached directly to the iPhone, but makes improvements in terms of portability and Bluetooth connectivity. Making blood pressure readings more convenient, even consumers who have not been diagnosed with high blood pressure may be incentivized to do so and gain greater insights into their health.

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Connected Objects Health and Wellness

Atlas carries the weight of exercise knowedge on its shoulders

editors-choiceThe Premise.  You’ve watched what you’ve eaten, been walking the dog regularly, and re-repurposed that dusty, laundry rack back into a treadmill, but your weight loss has hit a plateau and you’re ready for the next level.  Fitness charts, daily journals, progress analyses and beach body, here you come! On second thought, you’ll just buy a piece of equipment to handle all that stuff for you… except for the actual exercise part.

The Product.  Atlas is a wrist-worn fitness tracker that can track time, heart-rate, reps, and even evaluate your form.  It achieves this through 3-D tracking and a bank of (potentially, by the time of release) over 100 exercises.  It can differentiate between exercises like squats and deadlifts, double curls from alternating curls, learn new exercises, and even discount exercises that aren’t done with proper form… so don’t try to cheat. It does not require dedicated software, is compatible with Fitocracy, MapMyFitness and other fitness programs, and allows you to create your own apps using its open API. Atlas is waterproof down to one meter, employs standard USB charging, has enough battery life for seven long workouts, a 30x15mm display screen, offers replacement bands, and is even left/right hand compatible.

Amiigo
The Amiigo was another Indiegogo fitness tracker that claimed tracking of specific activities.

The Pitch.  Atlas’ developers worked with professional trainers, fitness gurus, and their local fitness community to keep in touch with customer needs, and develop criteria of proper exercise form.  The campaign page shows off the “exercise fingerprints” it has devised, which are  snapshots of the Atlas’ graphic analyses. The page also includes a FAQ section that addresses everything from international shipping to metal allergies.  The well-produced video consists of the company’s CEO walking through a gym, delivering the essentials of the written pitch.

 The Perks.  The Atlas will run $160 ($130 for early backers), including a free six-month trial of fitness software.  Perks become much more complicated, including a $900 six-pack for trainers, a $1,500 option that entitles you to preload a custom exercise to be included with every shipment, and a “developer model,” Atlas.

The Potential.  Other wireless activity trackers can be had for as little as 60 bucks, on up to about $180, but none with the capacities or versatility of the Atlas.  And with technology sophisticated enough to differentiate between swimming strokes, track exercises as vague and obscure as rope-climbs and battle-rope work, and help you anticipate and overcome plateaus, the Atlas may be a bit toward the pricier side, but may be the exercise tracker that workout enthusiasts have been looking for.

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Fashion Health and Wellness

FreeUp keeps your specs from giving you the slip

FreeUpThose who wear spectacles often have to deal with the annoyance of  having them slip down the bridge of one’s nose, declining along with their eyesight as their ages advance. For those for whom contacts are an undesirable option. FreeUp addresses your spectacle lowered friction with a temporary, transparent strip that bespectacled creator Joseph Chang vows is unmatched by alternatives and you can judge for yourself in May 2014 by offering $10 for a one-week supply. The video is worth a quick watch for the phrase “nose profile” and watching Chang going cross-eyed for a moment as he affixes the product. FreeUp doesn’t seem like a product most would need every day, but one can see it coming in handy for exercises that generate a lot of nose perspiration.

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Health and Wellness

The ARC helps alleviate a pain in the neck

The Premise. In a world where so many people spend their entire workday in the confines of an office environment, neck soreness and discomfort has become extremely problematic. Solutions can be expensive, and are somewhat limited in scope. Clinical therapy can be effective, but sometimes it’s a shot in the dark, leaving those with neck pain to suffer until they finally find the solution they’re looking for.

The Product. The ARC is billed as a “simple, elegant and effective solution for neck soreness.” As the individual lies back with his or her neck resting on the arced device, it utilizes pressure points to quickly relax muscles and joints. In this way, it is similar to several back therapy products. It is said to be engineered in a way that makes it safe for daily use. It features a sturdy collapsible construction that makes use of neoprene padding, pressure inserts and a living hinge. The ARC will also be available in two sizes, which should make it easier for customers to choose a product that best fits the shape and size of their head/neck.

The Pitch. The video for the $25,000 campaign with CEO Gene Shirokobrod gives a description of how the product was designed, based upon therapeutic principles involving pressure points to relieve discomfort in the face/neck. The ARC, says Shirokobrod, essentially replaces the hands of a clinical therapist. The pitch makes clear that those with neck discomfort are the primary target audience for the ARC.

The Perks. The ARC will be released to the world in May 2014. Backers can get entry-level package pricing at around $40.

The Potential. Any pain relief gadget invites a healthy dose of skepticism. Furthermore, as with any devices used to treat medical conditions, however, it’s important to run this product by your doctor, especially if you’ve suffered from neck pain for a while. If it works and can find the right channels, though, it could find a significant market. Neck soreness certainly is omnipresent, and given that treatment can be so expensive, the ARC could represent a great supplemental approach and value for those seeking relief.