Archives: Health

Stay Safe in the Sun with the Netatmo June

When the sun finally starts shining here in the UK, we’re all out in force, soaking up the rays in our gardens and parks. When it comes down to sun protection though, we can sometimes forget to top up, and nothing can spoil good weather like a bad case of sunburn.

For ladies though, there’s a new way to keep tabs on your sun exposure, it’s called the June, and it looks just like a bracelet.

The June, made by Netatmo and first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show in January, is marketed specifically for women and is meant to look fashionable whilst protecting you from the sun. They’ve even bought in Camille Toupet, who’s worked with big brands such as Louis Vuitton, to design the ‘jewel’ which contains the UV sensors.

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The bracelet itself doesn’t give you the information, it instead relays it to the mobile phone app, which is available for iPhone. The app is well designed and easy to use, and it gives you multiple readings. First, it tells you how much time you’ve spent in the sun that day and provides a UV index, which tells you the strength of the UV rays that you’re currently out it.

The app also has a personalised touch, taking into account your skin type and outdoor habits,  it gives you notifications to reapply sun screen and also suggests times to maybe put on a hat and sunglasses too.

It’s a smart and innovative way to make people more aware of how much time they spend in the sun, and linking it to a smartphone ensures that the user will be able to easily see their exposure levels like they would their emails and messages.

There’s no news about whether Netatmo plan to make a version of the June that’s made for men, but if you’re a health conscious man who wants to take care of his skin, there are other wearable UV sensors out on the market including the UVeBand (which vibrates on your wrist when you need to reapply sunscreen) and the Sunfriend.

 

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Find the Watch to Keep Up with Your Smartphone

A watch that promises to make your life easier is the Gear 2 and Gear Fit.

Having dropped the name of Galaxy from the original version, the Galaxy Gear, the new and improved watches are expected to work either with a higher end smartphone, or can be used as a standalone. Both the Gear 2 and the Gear fit are expected to be release 11 April 2014.

Both gadgets are designed to be lightweight, with an interchangeable strap so that you can have it with different colours and, I am sure, that additional designs will also come onto the market. The watches can also be personalised, the same as your phone, by changing the background, clock interface and font type. Most importantly though, both devices are dust and water resistant.

Although the Gear 2 is not specifically designed for fitness, it will still monitor your heart rate through a built in heart sensor as well as track the distance that you have covered and the time that it has taken you, just the same as the Gear Fit. You are also able to, via Bluetooth, answer calls and see messages and notifications from other apps as well as play music through to independent Bluetooth earphones. Gear 2

Samsung Gear 2

There are, of course, important differences between the two devices through. The Gear Fit is designed to be more streamline with a curved screen, so that it can be more shapely on your wrist and the screen is designed so that you just have to glance down at it to see how you are doing, rather than hold it in front of your face so that you can read it the right way around. But an added bonus with the Gear Fit over the Gear 2 is that it will give you instructions, like your own personal instructor, as to how you can improve and reach your goal.

Although you can still answer calls and see text messaged via the Fit, you are only able to send a pre-set message back, whereas the Gear 2 allows you to be able to use S-Voice to dictate your response. The Gear 2 also has a two mega pixel camera which has the function to be able to use any picture you take with your background.

There is a home button as well to help with navigation and you can also use it with the Watch On app too, to control your TV. Both devices promise to be better than the first and help to make lives that little bit simpler.

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Let’s Play Star Trek with Medical Tricorders

Have you ever seen Star Trek? The doctor on board has a cure for just about everything!

One of the key pieces of tech that the ships doctor needs is the medical tricorder, a handheld device that scans the patient to find out what was wrong with them. Ever since these nifty little devices have been on our screens, people have been trying make ones of their own.

With the creation of smartphones and apps, the idea of a medical tricorder is becoming something of a reality.

One particular app that is available for iPhone, iPad and iPod users is VitaDock, an app that allows you to keep track of your blood sugar levels, body temperature, blood pressure and body weight. The company behind the app is MEDISANA, a German company that specialises in home healthcare technology, selling a variety of products ranging from blood glucose monitors and wrist heart monitors (for keen runners) to cellulite massagers.

VitaDock_System-1

The idea behind this bundle of technologies is that you can measure the statistics that you need and save the data on your app, creating a medical history for yourself and potentially setting goals for an improved health.

For the full package, you need to purchase the GlucoDock, ThermoDock, CardioDock and TargetScale equipment.

GlucoDock – if you have diabetes, or just want to keep an eye on your blood sugar levels, then GlucoDock is a way for you to keep track of your sugar. It works in a similar way to traditional blood sugar monitors, you prick your finger and let the test strip absorb the drop of blood, after a few seconds, you get a blood sugar reading. Et voila! Your data is now stored on the phone app, and you can see how your sugar levels change throughout the day.

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ThermoDock – this add on will measure your body temperature simply by pointing it towards your forehead. Just like the GlucoDock add on, you plug the ThermoDock into your phone, and the infrared technology will take and record your temperature on the phone.

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CardioDock – instead of inserting the add on and holding your phone to measure your stats, you plug your phone into the CardioDock, which is similar to an iPhone/iPod base station. Once the phone is plugged in, you place the cuff, which is similar to the ones used by doctors and nurses, around your arm before pressing start. The cuff will then inflate and take your blood pressure, before sending the data to your phone.

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TargetScale – unlike the previous three add ons, the TargetScale works without being physically connected to the phone. Working via bluetooth, the scale is used in the traditional way, but instead of just taking body weight, it also measures body fat, body mass index (BMI), body composition and bone mass. Another feature is the balance test, to see if weight is evenly distributed on both legs. Körperanalysewaage_TargetScale

While this bundle of technologies isn’t exactly on the level of Star Trek, they’re certainly an impressive example of personal health technologies. The look that MEDISANA has designed for them fits seamlessly with Apple’s designs, making the new technologies blend seamlessly with the ones you already have.

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