Feedback loops. That's the focus that some of the highest profile consumer health startups have taken in recent years. Making scales smarter by pairing them with smartphone apps, using smartphone camera's to track eating habits or to measure vital signs, pairing wireless-enabled pedometers with smarter software, all hope to create tighter and more effective feedback loops with an eye on health...
WellFX, creator of an online and mobile social platform for healthcare providers and patients to manage chronic diseases, says it has received a reported $5 million investment from private investment company CMT Ventures. The Series A financing will allow Petaluma, Calif.-based WellFX to, among other things, complete two pilot tests of its technology, put the platform in general release and...
Jawbone's UP wristband
As obesity increasingly becomes a worldwide epidemic, especially within children and adolescent populations, solutions to the problem are poised to become a major focus within mHealth. A handful of approaches were discussed during a panel, "Obesity, Diet, and Physical Activity," at the 2011 mHealth Summit held in Washington, D.C. this week, including a noteworthy study by...
A new feature story in the Economist takes the pulse of wireless healthcare with an article titled: "Wireless health care: When your carpet calls your doctor." The reference is to the sensors-laced "magic carpet" that Intel has invested in for fall prevention among the elderly population. The article launches into the subject with an interesting lead:
"Pundits have long predicted that advances in...
"There is a growing awareness of the opportunity that mobile has for healthcare," Dr. John Mattison, assistant medical director and chief medical information officer (CMIO), Kaiser Permanente Southern California told MobiHealthNews in an interview at HIMSS 2010 in Atlanta last week. "When we spoke last December, that much was clear. What has not gotten recognition is that mobile health can have a...
MiLife, a start-up that Unilever Corporate Research (UCR) spun out in 2008, announced $4 million in new funding followed by a name change and new strategy. MiLife has changed its name to Imperative Health and shifted its focus to chronic disease management, especially: diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity, and high cholesterol. Unilever Ventures and New Venture Partners participated in the...
It's the week of Thanksgiving here in the U.S. -- a holiday that typically includes over-indulging on turkey, root vegetables and pie followed by a short food induced coma. 'Tis the season, but for those who would like to keep track of their calories this week, there are plenty of smartphone applications to help you do so. Here's a quick run-down of apps available for various smartphones -- some...
The 3G Doctor reports that the GSM Association has published its Mobile Manifesto for Europe, which explains the association's vision for the European mobile industry. Part of the manifesto includes a promise to “put in place a long term strategy for mobile use in healthcare” and to “provide confidence around investment for national health authorities,” according to the 3G Doctor blog. Here's the...
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that the medical costs of treating obesity-related diseases topped $147 billion in 2008, according to a recent report in the Wall Street Journal.
During the past decade that cost of treating obesity effectively doubled: The medical costs associated with obesity were pegged at $74 billion in 1998. The number of obese people in the U.S. rose ...
The way that we listen to music these days is completely different from the way it used to be; the way we communicate via electronic messaging is also very different; so is the way we read books thanks to devices like Amazon's Kindle, explained The West Wireless Health Institute's Dr. Eric Topol at the Qualcomm Smart Services Summit in San Diego this morning.
"Wouldn't it be natural -- knowing...
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