High User 'Star Ratings' Doesn't Mean Mobile Medical App Works

By screening nearly 300 user reviews and comments for a once popular App claiming to effectively monitor blood pressure, Johns Hopkins researchers found that a high "star rating" doesn't necessarily reflect medical accuracy or value.

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Apple drew up a patent for a new kind of blood pressure monitor

Two years ago, a handful of Apple employees dreamed up a device that would take the company beyond the world of healthcare apps, and into healthcare products. That device isn’t the Apple Watch, at least not yet. Instead, it seems to be a device whose function could very well be rolled into future Apple Watch devices down the line. Apple applied for a patent for said device in a listing that became public today, and it looks... underwhelming.

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Stretchable Sensors Are Game Changers For Stroke Recovery

A game-changing wearable device may help transform stroke rehabilitation. Developed at Northwestern University, the stretchable sensors stick to a patient’s skin. The electronics move with the body and report health statistics, including sleep quality, muscle activity, and heart function.

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Sweden’s KRY raises $66 million to bring its digital health service to France and the U.K.

Swedish company KRY today announced that it has raised $66 million to expand its digital health care service across Europe. The round was led by Index Ventures, with participation from Accel, Creandum, Project A, and others. The company offers a digital platform that connects patients with doctors remotely. Using a mobile app, a patient can consult a KRY-employed health care professional and can also submit symptoms and share photos.

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ALS Association initiates Project Revoice to enable voice cloning for ALS patients losing voices

At the start of 2018, Project Revoice, a voice cloning technology initiative was launched. The mission of Project Revoice states, “ALS is also known as Motor Neuron Disease, a progressive neurodegenerative disease that, amongst other symptoms, often takes away a person’s ability to speak. Project Revoice is a non-profit initiative with the ultimate goal to ensure that no one living with ALS will ever have to suffer being robbed of their voice”.

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Republic Wireless’ new Relay communication device has potential to further enable ICT access.

A new device released by Republic Wireless at the beginning of 2018, called the Relay, was designed to provide children with a screenless communication device. The device gives kids more freedom,while giving parents’ peace of mind by providing a way to both locate and communicate with their children without the need for standard phones.


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How the Xbox Adaptive Controller will change the lives of millions of players with disabilities on PC

Microsoft has done a great service to disabled gamers in creating the Xbox Adaptive Controller (XAC). It's a new gamepad that features 19 3.5mm input jacks which you can plug all sorts of add-ons into. They're industry standard, so players will be able to purchase a variety of switches to fit their needs.

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Intel unveils smart glasses that you might want to wear

Intel has launched an impressively light, regular-looking set of smart glasses called Vaunt, confirming rumors from Bloomberg and others. Seen by The Verge, they have plastic frames and weigh under 50 grams, a bit more than regular eyeglasses but much less than Google Glass, for example. The electronics are crammed into the stems and control a very low-powered, class one laser that shines a red, monochrome 400 x 150 pixel image into your eye. Critically, the glasses contain no camera, eliminating the "big brother" vibe from Glass and other smart glasses.

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Amazon's New Fire TV Device Is a Voice-controlled Cube

Amazon is launching what it thinks is the next obvious thing in home entertainment. The just-announced 4K Fire TV Cube is part Fire TV, part Amazon Echo, and part TV control center for the other boxes and gadgets you have crowded around your TV. Whereas earlier Fire TV devices required you to summon Alexa through the remote, the Fire TV Cube has Alexa built in. In fact, Amazon says the whole user experience of the Cube was designed with a "voice first" philosophy.

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Smart thermometer, app provide real-time influenza tracking

Using a "smart” thermometer connected to a mobile phone app, University of Iowa researchers have successfully demonstrated that they can track influenza activity in real time at both population and individual levels, and in the process accurately predict flu activity as much as three weeks in advance.

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Vision-Focused Accessibility Efforts Made by Apple, Amazon, and Others Highlighted in New Report

A new article published last night by The Wall Street Journal takes a look into how accessibility-focused technology has the "potential to fundamentally change the mobility, employment and lifestyle of the blind and vision-impaired."

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