Top 10 ‘good & healthy living’ innovations

With ‘good & healthy living’ being one of the themes for the 2018 edition of the Get in the Ring Global Meetup, it’s time to dive a bit into the innovations we’ve come across. Think about a good night’s sleep, devices to support disabled people, knowing when to go to a doctor and when to treat symptoms yourself. Dive with us into the top 10 wearables, robots and other innovations we found over the past year!

Somnox 
Somnox is the first robot you might actually want to sleep with. To be fair, it looks more like a pillow than a robot, but it’s equipped with an accelerometer, an audio sensor and a carbon dioxide sensor. 40% of the world’s population is suffering from sleep deprivation, while sleep is the basis for health. Current solutions are medicines with addictive side-effects. Hold this robot pillow tight and it’ll actually breathe in and out to help you regulate your own breath. And since your breathing rhythm influences your heart beat and metamobilism, makes breathing one of the most important elements of getting relaxed and at rest. Next to that; the robot senses if you are awake, in deep / light sleep and based on that data express different behaviours; for example; when you are having a nightmare, Somnox will shine a light for you with a comfortable lullaby.

Dreem 
If your bedpartner isn’t the biggest fan of you hugging tight with a sleep robot, you might consider Dreem. Dreem is an “active” neurological wearable. This means it not only monitors and measures, but can take action based on what it perceives. Audio plays a major role in the Dreem’s operation. Various settings play meditative tracks, those which guide you through breathing exercises, and others that help sync breathing and heart rate together. Once you’re asleep, the EEG watches over your brain, and generates ‘pink noise’ audio tones to increase the quality of your deep sleep. There are many benefits to this apparently, including waking up properly refreshed in the morning, and promoting better overall health. The headband also has a smart alarm, waking you up gently at the optimal time. In beta tests, the Dreem has helped cut the time it takes to fall asleep by 31 percent.

Organicup
OrganiCup is a menstrual cup that is a healthier, easier and greener alternative to pads and tampons. Pads and tampons typically contain problematic additives (bleach, chlorine, glue, perfume, lotion). More than a quarter of the fluids absorbed by a tampon are natural and necessary vaginal secretions. The organiCup is bleach-free, glue-free, chlorine-free, perfume-free and lotion-free! It is made of 100% medical grade silicone, no chemicals and is ultra-hygienic and allergy-friendly. Tampons and pads absorb, OrganiCup simply collects! This eliminates irritation and dryness while ensuring the natural pH balance is kept intact. Tampons have been associated with the disease TSS (toxic shock syndrome) since the 1980´s. OrganiCup has never been associated with TSS, nor any allergies. Not only good for you, but since 1 cup can last 10 years, also good for the environment!

Livia 
Let’s face it. Menstrual pain sucks. For some people, the pain is dull and hardly noticeable. For others, especially those who suffer from endometriosis, the pain is so severe they’re unable to get out of bed. Imagine the impact on work productivity as well.. Painkillers help reduce the pain, but the side effects can be unpleasant. That’s where Livia comes in, claiming to be the “off-switch for menstrual pain”. Here’s how it works: Users simply attach two electrodes to the areas on their abdomen that hurt and switch on the colorful, palm-sized gadget. According to Livia’s makers, the device immediately sends nerve-stimulating electric pulses through the two electrodes, and poof! — the pain is gone.

Ada Health 
Hypochondriacs, unite! Artificial intelligence-powered app Ada provides a personalized way to assess and monitor your health—anytime, anywhere. There’s currently a shortage of over seven million physicians, nurses and other health workers worldwide, and the gap is widening. Doctors are stretched thin — especially in underserved areas — to respond to the growing needs of the population. Feeling achy or itchy outside of office hours? Break out in hives during a weekend away? Skip the waiting room and ask Ada for advice. Ada combines artificial intelligence (AI) with expertise from actual doctors to help people understand and manage their health. The app works with a conversational interface so you can have a conversation with it just like you would have with a trusted doctor. With that said, Ada isn’t claiming to replace your doctor anytime soon. Through a chat (using natural language processing) Ada asks you specific questions about your symptoms. If needed, you can opt to share your information with a registered physician, who will review the selected symptoms and offer advice.

Oriense
There finally is a guide dog for visually impaired people, just a click of a button away.
There are 300M of blind and visually impaired people in the world, but 98% of them are limited in their daily live because just 2% have an exclusive thing – a guide dog. Guide dogs are very expensive, it takes years to train them, and costs tens of thousands of dollars.
The Oriense wearable device solves three major problems: obstacle avoidance, geo-navigation and image recognition. The device is essentially a speaking assistant that points out obstacles, helps the user with the route, describes what’s around them; it provides them with the information they are lacking and that they would usually have to ask for from people around them.

StethoMe 
Coughing, a runny nose, a fever… Should you call the doctor immediately? Or should you wait a while and see? Let’s forget about the stethoscope that we are all familiar with. Now imagine the stethoscope of the 21th century; a smart device, which enables parents to monitor their children’s health at home, so they only need to see the doctor when it’s necessary.
You examine. StethoMe analyses. The doctor makes the call.

Bluereo
Dentists always say, “Brush your teeth at least twice a day – once for beauty and once for health”. Sounds simple, even boring. However, not for everyone, 42% of disabled people cannot brush their own teeth. The patients, challenged people and seniors either swallowed or spilt the gargled water when brushing their teeth. And the poor oral managements cause mental and physical pains to both the patients and care-givers. Bluereo’s ‘toothbrush with suction function’ can prevent patients from swallowing or spilling gargled water & harmful substances to provide comfortable brushing environments and reduce physical/mental fatigue of care-givers.

Sound Shirt
‘Feel the music’ gets a totally different meaning with the Sound Shirt. Following a belief that “Everyone has the right to experience listening to music,” the members of the Junge Symphoniker Hamburg Orchestra brought the design to life after a 6 month research and development period spent with CuteCircuit. By translating and transforming sounds into waves, Sound Shirt translates any kind of instrument from the orchestra via a software attached to the clothing. Here’s how it works: First, microphones have to be placed throughout the source of the music — a concert stage, an orchestra pit, etc. The audio is picked up by the shirt’s computer system, and translated into vibration through small motors (called actuators) throughout the shirt, in real time.

Linespace 
The woman stands at a drafting table, her hands resting lightly on the surface. “Berlin center,” she says clearly. A voice responds, “Drawing central Berlin,” and a 3D print head lowers into view to lay down a raised map of the Berlin city center along with several small circles representing homes for sale. It’s called Homefinder, and it’s one of the applications being developed as part of Linespace, a tactile display system that allows visually impaired people to interact with maps, diagrams, and other spatial data, developed at the Hasso Platner Institut (HPI) in Potsdam, Germany. The Linespace applications developed so far include the Homefinder app, an interior design application, a version of Microsoft Excel, and even a Minesweeper game. There’s a lot of potential for gaming, art, education, and more. Linespace is another step forward for the visually impaired – an interactive tablet, of sorts, for adults.

Want to get in contact with any of these companies? Reach out to corrinke@gitr.co and we’ll put you through!