1. Flex Wireless Activity & Sleep Wristband, 2. Oled Pulse Oximeter, 3. OMron Blood Pressure Monitor. See bottom of post for details

This post is based on a BBC doco shown on Australian TV channel SBS this week which was presented by Dr. Kevin Fong and called Monitor Me. It’s about e-technology and its potential to improve our health. It has the potential to create a medical revolution. We are at the beginning of a boom in health related apps and gadgets that can help us monitor our bodies, promote our health and prolong our lives. This cheap, constant, at home monitoring means we can pick up bodily changes that were not possible physically, technologically or even economically just a few years ago. Just imagine what will happen in the future. Our at home devices will be able to tell us when we are getting sick, display a record of all our vital signs and how they have changed then have them in a nice ready package ready for analysis by a medical professional.

These are the three main protagonists the story is based on.

Prof ERIC TOPOL, M.D
“Professor of genomics and holds the Scripps endowed chair in innovative medicine.
Director of the Scripps Translational Science Institute in La Jolla, California.
Previously, he led the Cleveland Clinic to its #1 ranking in heart care, started a new medical school, and led key discoveries in heart disease.”

He is big on biometrics and small personal, medical technology. He had the presenter hold what looked like a mobile sized device with both thumbs on two metal points(not sure if it was a type of mobile) where it could bring up an instant cardiogram of his beating heart. It was small, seemingly cheap and within financial reach of most individuals. Possibly it would be reprogrammable with different apps for different bodily functions. In theory anyone would be able to diagnose good or poor heart health and maybe even a heart attack. In theory these small, cheap, portable devices could help us track our health throughout our lifetimes and switch medicne from fixing problems to preventing problems.
See:
http://creativedestructionofmedicine.com
Wikipedia Profile.

Prof LARRY SMARR
Professor of Computer Science and Information Technologies at the University of California, San Diego.

His interest was the long term recording of all his bodily functions through many tests. He seemed to measure as much as possible – it looked like he would measure all food, all blood components, urine – and – faecal content. He would collect one of his stools every fortnight, package it and store them in his freezer until he had enough to send off for analysis. He left no stone unturned, he tried to measure everything going in and everything going out.

Notably, he had his results all on display on a large screen showing which results would fall in and out of expected statistical norms. With this he was able to see some of the markers in his blood were way out of whack and he was able to pick up an autoimmune disease early and before he could feel it. He was able to diagnose chrohns disease with the use of google and was therefore able to tackle it early. The point being, cheap bio-testing using cheap gadgets and apps may be able to pick up disease and illness before we even consciously know it.
See:
Wikipedia Profile.
See this post Larry Smarr: Where There Is Data There Is Hope on the Quantified Self website.
Quantifying your body: A how-to guide from a systems biology perspective. Biotechnology Journal. Prof. Larry Smarr.Article first published online: 6 AUG 2012 (Abstract but full article is pay per view)

Prof ALEX ‘SANDY’ PENTLAND
‘The Toshiba Professor at MIT, a serial entrepreneur, and is one of the most cited authors in computer science. Pentland received his B.A. from the University of Michigan and obtained his Ph.D. from MIT in 1981, was lecturer at Stanford University in both computer science and psychology, and joined the MIT faculty in 1986, where he became Academic Head of the Media Laboratory and received the Toshiba Chair in Media Arts and Sciences.’

Professor Pentland is big on wearable technology. He was instrumental in developing an app that could be used by returning war veterans that has the potential to monitor and help in the treatment of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. It seems pretty easy asall the patient has to do is answer questions on a phone app and it was able to track there mental health over the long term. So these gadgets and apps would not only help in the long term monitoring and recording of our physical health but also be instrumental in the monitoring and treatment of mental health and wellbeing.
See:
Wikipedia Profile
See his MIT biography here.
Check out this pdf on wearable computing here.

1. Flex Wireless Activity & Sleep Band.
Tracks steps, distance, calories burned and active minutes, LED lights show progress against your goal, Monitors your sleep and wakes you with a silent alarm, Includes tracker, small and large  wristbands (sizing guide), charging cable and wireless sync dongle.

2. OLED CMS50D Fingertip Pulse Oximeter
30+ hours continuously monitoring on one set of batteries, 1+ month for regular spot-checking usage, SPO2 Pulse Rate bargraph and Perfusion Index, 6 rotation display modes, Bright OLED display, Low battery level indication, Auto power off after 5 seconds, Low power consumption on 2 AAA batteries, Comes with a hanging strap, Intended use for spot check of blood oxygen saturation level at home.

3. Omron HEM7322 Premium Blood Pressure Monitor
One Touch Use • 90 Reading Memory • Hypertension Indicator • Cuff Wrapping Guide • Body Movement Indicator • Irregular Heartbeat Indicator • Enhanced Intellisense • Soft Cuff (Medium to Large) 22-42cm • Heart Sure APP Compatible • Date & Time Display • Advanced Averaging Function Exclusive technology automatically displays the average of up to the last 3 readings taken within the last 10 minutes • Colour Blood Pressure Level Indicator • Extra Large LCD Display • Quick Read • Carry Bag • Power Source 4 x AA Batteries included. Optional extra: AC adaptor (available in Accessories category)