Never like this year, for obvious reasons, has the emphasis been placed on the theme of health. The near future looks promising with vaccines on the way. And further?
For the more advanced future, the devices and medical innovations discussed in this post are created to prevent a medical emergency or to provide medical assistance more quickly in the future.
Each of these medical innovations provides insights to not only reduce the burden on the healthcare system, but make patients feel safer knowing they can monitor their health, whatever comes their way.
DAB, an adhesive ECG
It's as big as a dime, the Dab's Adam Miklos. It is an ECG that rests comfortably on the chest, constantly reading the movements of the heart. Designed to be minimal, non-invasive and simple, the Dab seeks to bridge the gap between medical and wearable devices.
Its tiny yet classy design attaches to your chest via a gel patch, while electrodes capture your heart's activity. The Dab's dry electrodes allow it to be used and reused, while constantly measuring heart activity (with periodic charging via a wireless hub).
Electrodes keep records of accurate readings, and you totally forget you have them. A few more hints in this post a few months ago.
Athlete's Plane, a plane to stay fit
Teague, an interdisciplinary design company based in Seattle, partnered with Nike to create Athlete's Plane, an aircraft that keeps athletes in peak playing condition, even when they cross three time zones to play a crucial away game.
Designed specifically for a basketball team, the airborne facility has everything a player needs to be 100% mentally and physically fit to negate the “away disadvantage.”
To get the best athletic performance, the quality of a move also counts. To improve it, and build these special interiors of a Boeing 787, interviews and tests were carried out on dozens of professional players, coaches and operating personnel.
Scaled, modular brace inspired by nature
While we cannot control accidents, we can better prepare ourselves to react to them. SCALED is a project aimed at doing exactly that: to protect and heal you to improve the quality of life and increase longevity. This could be the next generation of braces that combine protection, healing and mobility in a superhero-like wearable form!
Research shows that joint injuries are recurrent and can cause long-term immobility. The designer Natalie Kerres he studied nature to find a solution. It focused on animals that physically protected themselves from threats with skin, shells or scales.
He wanted to design a product that mimics natural protection and healing while still allowing flexibility - that's how SCALED was born. “The geometry of the animals' scales changed during the evolution process based on environmental parameters critical to survival. A scale structure is able to distribute the impact force and, furthermore, it is flexible in one direction and rigid where it is needed, ”he explains. I talked about it better in this post.
Little I, a "magic" eye for the health of newborns
Il designer Chris Barnes and his colleagues at Cambridge Consultants in Cambridge, UK, have designed a wearable health monitor for babies.
A solution to limit mortality in the first month of life, ideal in areas where current solutions are not readily available.
Called “Little I,” it allows parents in low-resource countries to monitor the health of their newborns. They do this with a durable, low-cost device that gives them the guarantee of their newborn's survival despite the lack of medical knowledge.
This service is implemented by NGOs who first purchase and transport these medical innovations to the community and then teach how to use it. After 28 days, the device is returned, cleaned and recharged for use by another infant.
Median AMB, the ambulance train
A team of Korean designers (Hong Seonghwan, Lee Hyungtaek, Lee Taekkyung & Song Yoojin) created the Median ENVIRONMENT, a special ambulance that can directly reach the accident site without being affected by the traffic congestion created by the accident. One of the most "frontier" medical innovations, but it provides inspiration.
The Median AMB moves across the median and drives up and down the highway almost as if it were a monorail. It features sliding doors on both sides, seating for a driver and an assistant, and an area for a stretcher holding the victim. Median AMB is a concept that aims to speed up first aid as much as possible.
RaDoTech, a body scanner
RaDoTech is a simple portable device that can, in a span of 5 minutes, perform a full body scan to see what the internal situation is like.
When brought into contact with some acupressure points on the body, RaDoTech assesses the health of the corresponding internal organs. Clinically proven results are sent to the phone, with an accurate health reading, along with personal and usable information to live better.
Medical jelly
It is a big problem to get kids to swallow tablets, and I know that soon I will have to measure myself with him having a 3 year old girl.
But I also know many adults who go to great lengths to exchange their tablets for a syrup. How to solve? Medical innovations come to the rescue - this special waterless jelly will be a lifesaver for many.
Not only does it make swallowing easier, it also addresses the broader issue of access to clean water in poorer countries. It is harmful to take medicines with contaminated water, and unfortunately the risk is high in some areas of the planet.
This innovative jelly medicine was created to work without the need for water. The dose is just that of a sip of water, so the patient will not need to drink anything while taking the medicine. Zero risk of cholera, or typhoid fever.
Pimoji, Self-explanatory drugs
The concept behind Jong Hun Choi's Pimoji aims to clarify the indications on drugs, and to prevent intake errors. The solution is simple and among the medical innovations in this post it seems to me the nicest. Each pill is designed with an emoji-style representation of the ailment it is supposed to cure.
Heart medicines are in the shape of hearts, bone medicines are in the shape of bones, toothache tablets are in the shape of teeth, etc. I don't dare to think what Viagra would be like.
Clearup, electric nasal release
When rhinitis strikes, we would do anything to breathe normally again. It not only causes pain in the nose, but also in the head, temples and even teeth.
Clearup, a device already approved by the FDA, is designed to relieve discomfort and provide a long-term solution instead of taking pills every time the season changes.
It gently emits microcurrent waves when you slide the gadget over the affected area to reduce pain and keep everything clean for up to 6 hours. This is especially helpful if you're dealing with chronic rhinitis or allergies that last a year, which means taking a lot less medications.
A study by ClearUp shows that 72% of users achieved relief after using the device, and 82% preferred it over medications or other medical innovations. It also eliminates the hassle of having to constantly clean or sterilize nasal sprays and other aerosol tools.
Intake, free nose with magnets
Similar in content to previous medical innovations, Intake is a magnetic nasal strip system. The kit of Intake includes adhesive strips with magnets that attach to each side of the nose, right above the nostrils.
The semi-rigid bridge draws the magnets towards you, gently pulling the nostrils to widen them. With wider nasal passages, it is much easier to breathe through the nose rather. Compared to other similar medical innovations the Intake solution is non-invasive, discreet, works even during the most intense workouts and even in the rain.
