Dialysis is a way of removing waste and excess water from the blood and it’s a lengthy process those living with kidney problems have to go through every week for hours at a time. But now a new gadget and app concept called Mobilysis could change the way dialysis works for the better.

Mobilysis consists of a large, but comfortable, belt that’s worn around the patient’s waist. Clothes are able to fit over the device and there are special compartments for waste and power, so patients can go about their usual daily routine while having the dialysis treatment, or even sleep throughout the night and it’ll still work as efficiently as in the hospital.

The Mobilysis system doesn’t just come with the belt, there’s also an accompanying iPhone application, which provides users with all kinds of information, like how the current cycle is going, heart rate, the capacity of the waste cartridge and battery life.

There’s an SOS button, so if the patient has any trouble they can quickly and easily make an emergency call, and you can immediately send detailed reports about the sessions directly to your doctor so they can keep accurate records.

Although the Mobilysis device and its handy app are still prototypes at the moment, if they become approved they could revolutionise dialysis treatment and give patients a lot more freedom and control over their health.

[Via Yanko Design]

If you’re like me, the whole idea of using fitness or health apps always seems great. A few weeks later it’s a different story. I stop using them either through boredom or the regime I’m on has gone downhill. 

For many like me, an incentive always helps when it comes to trimming a few pounds. Enter SlimKicker, a free new iOS app that offers users the opportunity to win prizes whilst getting slimmer. In a nutshell, “SlimKicker turns your diet and weight loss goals into a winnable, level-up game”.

To be honest, when we first heard about SlimKicker it’s hard not to think it could be a little gimmicky. But after reading a little deeper, SlimKicker may have something a bit different.

Here’s a brief rundown of SlimKicker’s four main functions, as described by the company:

• Stay motivated and excited. Rack up points for tracking healthy calories, logging your workouts, and completing challenges.

• Stay accountable. Enter seven to 30 day diet and fitness challenges with others, and “check-in” daily to tell us how you’re doing.

• Win prizes. As you level up, you get to participate in giveaway challenges where we give away special prizes.

• Personalised advice. Get personalised reminders from our virtual coach based on your activity.

Number three got me very interested. This could be a real draw for many. Points, badges and rewards like that just don’t do it for me, but the opportunity to win tangible prizes as a result of creating new, healthy habits that improve our lifestyle is a fantastic idea.

I like a few other features as well. The points system is referred to as “Weight Watchers in reverse,” as users gain more points for choosing healthy foods versus unhealthy ones. The “Challenges” issued by the app are also pretty neat. For example, if one user is attempting to quit drinking fizzy drinks, the challenge will start out easy and gradually become harder. The more difficult the challenge, the higher the points earned.

Overall, I believe SlimKicker stands a decent chance of becoming a success in a market that is becoming more and more crowded everyday. The prizes will be key.

From researching vitamins, scanning supplements into their plan using a smartphone camera to tracking and sharing their supplement plans with others, the WellnessFX app is aimed at users of the online platform. And for those who aren’t tracking online as yet, it may well encourage you to do so.

Other features include capturing daily activities like supplement use to track progress on a health plan and comparing supplement use with RDA (Recommended Daily Allowance) levels to track health against guidelines.

A lot of the apps we see here at CHS are all about getting us healthy and improving our fitness. That’s where WellnessFX is different – it’s all about keeping users at peak physical health for longer. The company provides customers with a visual spectrum of both genetic and biological data. Users are re-tested at regular intervals to chart improvement. According to the CEO, WellnessFX “shows users that if they change their lifestyle and nutrition, they will see measurable results in a finite period”.

There’s absolutely no point downloading the app if you won’t be using the online platform. We’d say it’s definitely worth a shot. We love the way it relies on human data, totally different from a lot of the health apps/platforms out there.  Whether it keeps you at your peak or not is questionable, but it will certainly help you try.

The research, conducted by electrical online retailer Ebuyer (see the infographic below), found that the gap between able bodied and disabled athletes is closing when it comes to athletics. For instance, Oscar Pistorius ran the men’s 100 metres in 2008 in 11.17 secs, compared to Portugal’s Jose Reinaldo Pieira who competed the same distance in 1984 in 12.94 secs. In comparison, the results of able bodied athletes have only improved their times marginally, Carl Lewis achieved a time of 9.99 secs in 1984 for the men’s 100 metres, whilst Usian Bolt ran the same race in Beijing in 9.69 secs. Whether this gap continues to close in the future remains to be seen, but with new prosthetic technologies being produced everyday we can’t imagine it’ll be long before disabled and able bodied athletes can compete together.

Dave Wood from Ebuyer said:

“There have been exciting technological progressions in recent years, we can see a steady improvement in the times that are being achieved as a result of these new innovative advancements. Looking at the results we can see the gap between disability sports closing, and hopefully, in the future, disappearing.”

Related: Nike launches new running suit inspired by… golf balls?!

The clever minds over at Nike HQ have developed a new running suit, which claims to significantly improve sprint times during the Olympics this summer because of its unique design based on… wait for it… the surface of a golf ball.

At the Olympics this summer, American, German, Chinese and Russian athletes will be wearing a new suit developed by Nike called the TurboSpeed. According to Fast Co Design, researchers at Nike claim the fancy new suit will improve 100m sprints by as much as .023 seconds, which is a huge amount of time for such a short race.

The incredibly light tracksuit has been through a rigorous series of wind tunnel tests over the past few years in order to ensure the design is as aerodynamic as possible. Interestingly, the suit consists of a number of dimples that are designed to reduce drag on certain areas of the athlete’s body. Fast Co Design explains that the team at Nike were inspired by the way golf balls move through the air:

“Those dimples help balls travel further because they create low pressure turbulence in the boundary layer on the wind-facing side of the ball as it’s flying through the air, which ultimately means less drag behind the ball.”

You may aso be surprised to learn that the TurboSpeed is rather environmentally friendly for a suit that looks like it’s from a sci-fi film. It’s made from 82% recycled polyester fabric, using around 13 recycled plastic bottles per suit!

[Via Fast Co Design]

mHealth mobile app store Happtique today announced plans for the launch of a new programme that will enable physicians to prescribe

mHealth apps to patients. With a trial period first, Happtique will see if its mRx mobile tool will encourage doctors to prescribe health applications and be effective enough to convince patients to actually download them.

For the trial, Happtique is recruiting GPs, doctors and physicians that specialise in the treatment of heart disease, diabetes, and musculoskeletal conditions, as well as physical therapists and trainers to test the technology with health and fitness apps. Participating prescribers will receive training and access to a range of health-specific apps, enabling them to integrate appropriate apps into their patients’ treatment programs.

Happtique will select 5-10 apps in each of the designated categories on both Android and iOS platforms. Once the trial apps have been selected, participating physicians and trainers will begin prescribing the apps, depending on the needs of the patients. As part of the trial, Happtique will provide doctors with the mRx app. Patients in the US will be able to download it from the App Store, the Google Play store or directly if they’re using an HTML5 app.

According to Happtique, “prescribing mobile health apps will allow doctors and patients to improve their connection and bring about healthy behaviour changes”.

Can we see this actually coming to fruition? We’re struggling to imagine going into our GP or doctor with a problem and coming out with a new app! Only time will tell though.

Microsoft has released a new app called My NHS for Windows phones, which will provide users with access to NHS services, the Microsoft HealthVault and a lot more important information that’s handy to have in your pocket.

There are a number of NHS apps available for iPhone users, like NHS Direct and NHS Quit Smoking, but this week Microsoft announced that its developed an NHS app specially for Windows phones, called My NHS.

The application brings users all kinds of information from the NHS, like local services, condition and treatment information and contact details, as well as integration with Microsoft’s HealthVault, a way to save all of your important information into your own dedicated account. Your mobile’s GPS functionality means you can find local services quickly and easily, there’s an A to Z of comprehensive information about problems and treatments and the integration with HealthVault means you can privately store and retrieve information.

According to the first reviews the app’s interface is intuitive and easy-to-use, but some Scottish users have been really disappointed to see it doesn’t work in many areas, so let’s hope these location issues get rectified soon, as the app is a great way of providing users with vital information to the palms of their hands.

Available from the Windows Phone Marketplace.

The new slick (and very good-looking) application Bloodnote makes tracking and monitoring your blood pressure quick and simple.

There are a number of apps available that are designed to give you more control over your health, allowing you to track and monitor everything your body gets up to throughout the day. However, many people don’t need to know how many calories they’ve eaten, steps they’ve taken and times they’ve exhaled, sometimes an all-singing, all-dancing app isn’t really the best answer and that’s why niche solution Bloodnote could be really popular among those that want to keep track of their blood pressure and nothing else.

Many people have their blood pressure monitored regularly, even if they don’t have a serious health problem, but often these results are kept by doctors as paper records or in a computer system you wouldn’t be allowed access too. Bloodnote aims to give people control over this data and allows them to easily track their blood pressure readings using a simple interface that looks good and is really easy to use, just swipe your finger around the dial to input the necessary information.

You can input the values each day and there’s a simple calendar running along the top of the app so you can keep track of everything easily and find the right data quickly, which is ideal if you need to show a doctor or medical professional your history fast.

The app is simple and isn’t a one-stop-shop for your health, but it’s perfect for those who need to monitor their blood pressure and want an easy way to do if from the palm of their hand. However, there are a number of new features in the pipeline too, like the ability to export data and, most importantly, a way to connect the app up with external blood pressure monitoring devices so you can have even more freedom over your health in the future.

Available from the app store for £1.49.

[Via The Next Web]

We’re not entirely sure whether your phone gives off damaging radiation or not, but if it worries you that your little mobile friend could well be frying your brain as you call, text and browse the internet every second of every day, then Tawkon could be your new favourite app.

Tawkon is a bright and colourful new application for Android devices that aims to track how much exposure you’ve had to the radiation that your phone emits.

According to Tawkon’s website, the app manages to tap into the part of your mobile that manufacturers keep hidden, the part that stores information about your phone’s radiation output and signal strength. Tawkon then uses this information to try and work out the phone’s radiation level and the SAR, which stands for Specific Absorption Rate and refers to the amount of radiation that you could potentially be soaking in at any given time. If the SAR gets too high the app will alert you and provide you with tips about how to stay safe, all from its jovial and easy-to-use interface. Who knew the scary prospect of radiation could be so fun?!

Now we’d take this app with a pinch of salt given there’s been no conclusive evidence mobile phone radiation is truly harmful in the long run, but if it’s something you’re a little worried about, then it may give you peace of mind to know you’re monitoring how much scary radiation your brain is being exposed to right now.

Available from Google Play for free.

[Via Medgadget]

The TrekDesk Treadmill Desk is… you guessed it… a desk and treadmill rolled into one. Although we can imagine running while you check your emails does get you fit, would you ever be able to concentrate on anything else while working up a sweat? And most importantly, wouldn’t you just look REALLY stupid?

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to work out that The TrekDesk Treadmill Desk is designed to keep you moving throughout the day by walking or (for the super ambitious) sprinting as you work. However, the TrekDesk Treadmill Desk actually doesn’t have to come with a treadmill, the company has pioneered a desk that fits with any device and can then be adjusted to suit your needs. So have it higher for typing out your emails and lower for watching videos in your lunch break.

The desk is a great way to ensure you squeeze your recommended minimum of 10,000 steps into every day and numerous studies have also shown over the past few years that we’d all be more productive if we weren’t just slumped in our chairs when we work.

But although the desk sounds great in theory, will anyone actually use it?

Here at Connected Health, we strongly believe that exercise doesn’t have to look good or glamorous to be effective, but at the same time, if you’re the only one in the office running on the treadmill as your colleagues sit in regular chairs you may start to feel a little silly and sweaty, right?

You can get your hands on a TrekDesk now for $479 from Amazon, but maybe get everyone else in your office on board the fitness bandwagon too so you don’t feel quite so paranoid.