GeckoCap: Simple Asthma Management for Kids and Parents

GeckoCap is a cap that fits on a child’s asthma inhaler. The cap makes it easier for parents and kids to remember when the next inhaler dose is needed by i) glowing when the dose is required and ii) uploading usage data wirelessly to an online platform that also notifies parents when a dose is missed or when the inhaler is running low. The online interface also allows parents to create their own reward systems for their kids to increase the child’s asthma awareness and improve adherence. GeckoCap is not yet available, but we hope so soon.

Treato: Doing Something Useful with Big Data

Treato collects patient-written information across the internet about different drug and health experiences (from blogs, forums, etc.) and then extracts the important information and organizes that data to show how various drugs affect different people. The company takes massive amounts of patient-voiced drug recommendations, referrals and complaints and packages it all together.

Treato has two parts – the consumer side, where you and I can see the aggregated information on the side effects and recommendations of various drugs (for free), and the corporate side, where pharmaceutical companies can pay to access more detailed information regarding their drugs in order to enhance the positioning and marketing of their products.

 

My Coupon Doc: We’re Bringing Coupons Back

Medications are expensive and My Coupon Doc is trying to make them less so. This includes saving a considerable amount on anything from Visine to Nicorette to Aleve by using legitimate manufacturer discounts. You can filter your search by prescription vs. over-the-counter and by illness or medication name. The site will bring you directly to the manufacturer site where you can access and print the coupon. As the cost of healthcare rises, coupons are definitely smart, and so is this website.

EyeXam: Test Your Eye Sight Anywhere

I like being prepared and going to the doctor’s office is no exception. Using EyeXam, you can test for colorblindness and approximate eyesight acuity for each eye. Then, you can locate the nearest optometrist or ophthalmologist to consult if there are any red flags from your self test – it’s pretty neat and easy to find out if you (or a family member) are color blind as well as the sharpness of your sight.

Up and Coming: Misfit Shine

The Misfit Shine is a one sexy all-metal self-tracking device approximately the size of two quarters. Expected to be released in March 2013, see the clip below for a first look. The Company is currently crowd-funding (with great success) and you can help here: Misfit

Get to Know: Stress Check Your Own Stress

Azumio has created a number of interesting health apps ranging from heart rate monitoring to sleep tracking to glucose monitoring. Stress Check designates a stress score after measuring your heart rate through the camera of your mobile device. The camera and the light of your mobile phone captures your heart rate using your pointer finger as well as analyzes your heart rate variability (HRV), which is the consistency (or lack thereof) of the intervals between heart beats. The less stressed you are, the higher your HRV and the more scattered and random consecutive heart beats you have.

The application then tracks your stress levels over time, which can differ greatly throughout the day. If you have high stress levels, Azumio has another app, Stress Doctor, which may be able to lower your stress levels.

Get to Know: MoodHacker for Mood Management and Depression

ORCAS creates health care technology solutions that help people manage their own well-being. The company has multiple products (web apps, websites, and tablet apps) targeting goal setting, emotional well-being, back pain, repercussions from concussions and living with asthma, among others.

My focus today is a web app called MoodHacker. MoodHacker targets people with depression as a way to set goals and lift spirits – it can also be used as a diary to simply track the few things you accomplished today and how it made you feel. As the ORCAS website denotes, “MoodHacker is based in CBT and positive psychology, but the app is anything, but clinical. Exercise, sleep, nutrition, and mood are woven into a simple, social, engaging, and persuasive user experience.” You can get started here: MoodHacker.